Got ideas on how to improve the streetscape of North Monroe Street, revitalize the area and improve transportation? Then attend a public meeting next week hosted by the City of Spokane. The City’s North Monroe Street Revitalization project is being done in collaboration with the North Monroe Business Association, the Downtown Spokane Partnership, Spokane Transit Authority, University of Idaho College of Art and Architecture faculty and students, Kendall Yards and the West Central, EmersonGarfield, and Riverside Neighborhoods.
The open house will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 28, from 3-5 p.m. at Empire Office Machines, 1411 N. Monroe Street. Mayor Verner is scheduled to make comments at 4 p.m.
The comments and information shared at the open house will be used to help identify improvements that can be made to the streetscape, transportation, transit, and infrastructure that will help revitalize the corridor. The suggested improvements will be used to pursue funding, project design, and construction. A portion of the funds will be generated from West Quadrant Tax Increment Financing (WQTIF) which was formed in 2007 to facilitate community revitalization in the West Central, EmersonGarfield, and Riverside neighborhoods.
Lack of parking with easy access, and heavy traffic is what killed Monroe street. If it were my street, I'd tear down some derelict buildings for parking, eliminate street parking, use the lane that was now open for ingress/egress to the off-street parking, and do some traffic calming.
Thanks @Philip Spohn. We did a 'walk audit' of Monroe a couple years ago and had many of the same conclusions, plus a couple more: there are obstructions in the sidewalk that make it difficult to walk or traverse the area in a wheelchair; the lanes are narrow and traffic moves fast, making it uncomfortable to walk; there are many parking lot/business entrances with poor sight distance and crosswalks are few and far between, causing people to play 'Frogger' by jumping out in the street mid-block, causing a dangerous situation to themselves and drivers. A definite candidate for traffic calming.