A couple weeks ago, the Inlander published this editorial by Spokane resident John Covert on why Spokane doesn’t need a north-south freeway and how the Washington State Department of Transportation is wasting taxpayer dollars on the NSC.
In this week’s issue, the Inlander printed this rebuttal they received via email from someone going by ‘abdsod1980:’
“Do you even live in Spokane? Have you ever driven north? While I wish they built it with light rail track running down the middle at the same time, but other than that, sorry, there is no argument that this is necessary. You are obviously from Seattle or live in Seattle and know nothing about Spokane, horrible article by the Inlander- totally disappointed.”
Well, abdsod1980, thanks for the sentiment but it’s not just people on the west side who think we don’t need another freeway. You might be surprised how many people in Spokane are against building the NSC, even at this late date when construction has already started. A lot of people feel it will contribute to urban sprawl (even though the sprawl is already there without the freeway) and divide neighborhoods (this is a very real concern that the WSDOT has been working with the Hillyard and a few other neighborhoods to address). Even Spokane City Councilman Richard Rush hasn’t been shy about voicing his displeasure regarding the NSC.
With the announcement of the NSC receiving $35 million in TIGER funds this week, and construction going strong this summer, I see this topic being in the news a lot in the near future.
Hillyard is for the NSC, as for dividing the neighborhood the railroad has divided Hillyard since the 1890s, and the NSC will bring jobs and businesses to the area.
Hillyard is a very forward-thinking community. Everyone I've talked to at WSDOT has said Hillyard citizens have been amazing to work with on this. They could accentuate the negative but have chosen to view the positive. I'm expecting to visit Hillyard next week to take pictures so I have examples of some of the amenities that other neighborhoods would like to see in theirs. For instance; street lighting, street trees, bumpouts, etc. Thanks Charles!
abdsod1980 is a moron. It says the author was from Spokane right below the article. That is one of the most reasoned accounts of the crazy boondoggle of the NSC that I have read. So far $.5 billion has been spent. The project will cost more than $2.5 billion. If we put the rest of that money towards pedestrian/bicycle/transit improvements, we would be so much better off. Hillyard would be a better place to live tenfold. Speak for yourself Charles, not everybody in Hillyard is for the construct of the 1950s through the neighborhood. Truly forward-thinking residents can foresee the destructive effects of the freeway. We don't want to be East Central part II.
You're right, not everyone in Hillyard supports the NSC but it's not just Charles who does, the Hillyard Neighborhood Council does also. Neighborhood councils have a lot more power these days than they used to. And judging from their support, I'm guessing they're not too worried about the 'East Central' effect.
As far as pedestrian/bicycle/transit improvements, the WSDOT knew that was going to be a huge argument as well, so included some of those in the NSC project. Not only does the NSC include a 10-mile long multi-purpose path, it also will have park-and-ride facilities along it, and right of way reserved for a possible future light rail, or other, mass transit system. So, if there's got to be a new freeway, at least they're being proactive about it. And, Hillyard HAS had a lot of recent bike/ped/transit improvements.
No matter what, not everyone is going to be happy about this project, but you can't argue that Hillyard isn't getting a big increase in non-motorized attention lately.
The hillyard neighborhood council is dominated by old business owners, many of whom do not even live in the neighborhood. It is no wonder that they support it.
You said "if there's got to be a new freeway". That is just it!! There doesn't need to be one. Refer back to the article you posted.
Plus, one path and transit in the median of the freeway is a joke for mitigation. Think about all that that entire pot of money could accomplish for the whole city!
The problem is that we could never get that kind of money for the entire city. The TIGER money had to be spent on 'mega projects,' large projects that cost over $20 million for a single project. We weren't allowed to 'bundle' projects, and since there aren't any other huge projects like that around, we wouldn't have gotten any TIGER money for Spokane if we hadn't submitted the NSC. The same goes for much of the other funding that has gone toward the NSC; it could only be spent on certain types of projects, so would have gone to a different community, not other local projects, had we not used it for the NSC.
One of the main reasons Hillyard wants the NSC is to get the trucks off of Market and Haven so the pedestrian and bicycle improvements done last summer can be used safely. To put those trucks on bicycle paths would not work, and everyone in Spokane would starve without those trucks. WSDOT has been coming to the Hillyard Neighborhood meetings quarterly to meet with residents of Hillyard to see what they want the NSC to look like through Hillyard. The pedestrian-bicycle trail north of Francis is very nice, and the plans I have seen through Hillyard look even better.
Good point about the trucks Charles. We've been hearing from all the north Spokane neighborhoods since long before I was in the transportation business that their main complaint is that trucks clog up the north-south arterials. The trucks are a necessity to get products to people, but when forced to use City streets, they do tend to cause congestion and safety hazards. Take them off the City streets though and things are going to flow much smoother, and be safer for people trying to cross the streets and ride bikes either in shared lanes with other vehicles or in bike lanes.