North Monroe ‘road diet’ moves into design phase, despite business opposition

The city will begin finishing the designs of a $7.1 million rebuild of a stretch of North Monroe Street that has been challenged by some business owners worried about loss of customers during construction.

“One of the things we want to do here is start pivoting to planning for construction,” Scott Simmons, Spokane’s director of public works and utilities, told City Council members Monday afternoon. “And having the property owners, and business owners, along there know the project is moving forward.”

Public works staff presented the council with the results of an online survey submitted to residents of the entire city, and the results of an in-person survey conducted with business and property owners along the 1.1-mile stretch of Monroe bounded by Kiernan Avenue on the north and Indiana Avenue on the south.

A majority of citywide residents, who’d been given details about the proposal to reduce the five-lane road to three and construct more visible crosswalks, said they believed the proposal struck a balance between the needs of the businesses and the neighborhood, with 65 percent of survey respondents giving their approval.

The results of direct questioning along Monroe were less glowing. Half of the property owners along the road said they supported the project moving forward, and just 18 of 56 current business owners said they supported the road diet plan. Those questioned were not required to view the city’s information about the project before answering, including estimates the construction could add anywhere from $10,000 to $60,000 in value for properties along the road.

City staff scored the project using a system the council approved earlier this month that provides weighted grades for potential major public construction. The rubric includes city and neighborhood plans and the input of surrounding residents, all of which scored highly in favor of the road diet.

City Councilwoman Karen Stratton, who represents the district where the construction is scheduled to occur next year, emphasized that there would be no additional action by city lawmakers on the project and that attention now should shift to helping businesses survive through next year’s construction.

“We need to look at ways to get it done as fast as we can,” Stratton said.

The city received $4.6 million in grants to help finance the project, which supporters said will slow traffic, increase pedestrian safety and make the Monroe corridor a destination shopping spot akin to the Perry and Hillyard districts. Opponents, many of whom have hung banners urging residents to “say no” to the project, cite longer-than-expected construction seasons and increased congestion that would dissuade commuters from walking in their doors.

Traffic studies have shown the work wouldn’t put any unbearable stress on other streets commuters might take. The city also convened an advisory board of business owners and neighborhood residents who ended up with a plan that would focus on two major areas along the corridor: from Mansfield to Carlisle avenues and from Chelan to Fairview avenues.

The city plans to have designs for the project completed by the end of the year, with construction to follow in 2018. The grant money awarded the project must be spent by 2019.