University District-East Sprague Corridor Planning Study

3rd E-Newletter has arrived!

2012-03-08T09:04:00.003-08:00

E-Newsletter has arrived! If you haven't received one through our mailer it is here on the blog under Citizen Resources!

March 20th Open House

2012-03-06T10:34:00.000-08:00

This is just another reminder of the Community Open House that will be held March 20th, 6-8pm on the Riverpoint Campus in the South University Facility, Suite 260 (412 E. Spokane Falls Blvd).

Open house participants may bus, bike, or walk to this event; there are accommodations for all modes of transportation. STA has three bus routes serving the Riverpoint Campus, #25, #26, and #29. The South Campus Facility has one-hour parking stalls and coin-operated metered parking at the north entrance, and parking in the lot to the west is $0.75 per hour.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Information: The City of Spokane is committed to providing equal access to its facilities, programs and services for persons with disabilities. Individuals requesting reasonable accommodations or further information may call, write, or email Liane Carlson at (509) 625-6703, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA, 99201; or mailto: lcarlson@spokanecity.org. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may contact Ms. Carlson at (509) 625-6367 through the Washington Relay Service at 7-1-1. Please contact us forty-eight (48) hours before the meeting date.

Advisory Team and Internal Interdisciplinary Team Meeting Graphics

2012-02-29T10:24:00.001-08:00

On February 15th MIG held the 4th meeting with the Advisory and Internal Staff Teams. The meetings were very productive and we came out with a lot of suggestions. Below are the wall graphics created by the consultants during the meeting documenting the comments that came from each meeting.

It would be great if you readers of the blog could take a look at the comments that are on these graphics and give your own suggestions and comments. The memos and PowerPoint from these meetings can be found in the Citizen Resources section of the blog. We would LOVE feedback!

The graphics are also available under the Citizen Resource Tab, this will allow you to enlarge so you can read them better.

We hope to hear from you!

New Material!

2012-02-21T13:09:00.000-08:00

We have just added new material to the Citizen Resource Section this includes Existing Conditions Analysis Document Review Update Memo, The Draft Alternative Analysis, and The Design Elements Strategy Memo.

Please check these out and feel free to comment on them!

We look forward to seeing you all at the March 20th Community Workshop!

Plan Commission Update

2012-02-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

Melissa Wittstruck is on the agenda for the tomorrows (Feb. 8th) Spokane City Plan Commission Public Meeting which starts at 11:30 am, she will be speaking at 12:30pm. If you would like to be updated on the project this is a good time to do so!

This meeting is held at City Council Briefing Center in the lower level of City Hall (808 W Spokane Falls Blvd). Hope to see you there!

New Material Available SOON!

2012-02-02T15:17:00.000-08:00

We are on the brink of receiving new reports from the consultants! Sometime next week we will be receiving the Existing Conditions Analysis Report, Draft Design Elements and Preferred Illustrative Map.

Check back for these reports!

March 20th Open House

2012-01-24T12:14:00.000-08:00

We know we are jumping the gun a bit here but we are getting really excited for our next Community Open House in March, we would really like to see as many people as we had at our Community Workshop in December (65 people!). So put this one on your calendars and don't forget!

The Open House will be held March 20th from 6:00-8:00pm in the South University Complex (the Bookie) on Riverpoint Campus, Suite 260.

In the meantime we will be posting new documents here and on the developingspokane.org website. This will help you keep well informed for the Open House.

Also as a reminder Melissa Wittstruck is willing to give update presentations to any groups interested. She can be reached at mwittstruck@spokanecity.org or 509-625-6069.

East Central Neighborhood Meeting

2012-01-07T15:11:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that Melissa Wittstruck will be giving a presentation at the next East Central Neighborhood Meeting on January 17th! Show up and find out where we are with the project!

Results of Community Workshop

2012-01-04T11:53:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone! Last week the Workshop Summary was uploaded and I just want to recap the results.

There were 65 people in attendance of those 34 of turned in their survey cards and these are the results. Based on their responses to general demographic questions, the participants can be characterized as follows:

85% own their own residences.
38% live in or own property in the study area.
56% stated that they frequently do business or shop in the study area.
Driving was noted as the primary mode of transportation (76% say they drive most frequently), while 14% most frequently bike. Only two individuals noted public transit as their most frequent mode.

Activity One Results: Land Use Alternatives

The results for the first exercise which asked participants to note on their comment cards how well they felt each land use alternative met the individual planning principles developed for the project. Of the three land use alternatives, the Urban Village Focus received the greatest level of support (click on each land use focus below to view land use maps).

71% responded that Urban Village Focus somewhat or mostly met planning principles.
56% responded that Employment Focus somewhat or mostly met planning principles.
Institutional Focus, received the least amount of support and greater percentage of "does not meet principles"

Activity Two Results: Street Design Alternatives

For purposes of the the workshop Sprague Avenue Corridor was split up into two areas: Sprague Ave. west of Hamilton Street and Sprague Ave. east of Hamilton Street (maps of alternatives can be found two posts ago). The participants of the workshop were asked to review each of the five potential street design alternatives that were developed and asked which they felt of the alternatives which fit best for each of the two areas (look at alternatives here .

Option A and B were chosen as the most popular alternatives for both sides of Sprague, with the most "I mostly like the design" votes. The majority of responses indicated that Option D is least desirable. Option D also elicited the greatest number of highly positive responses ("I love the design!"). This may be because of the inclusion of bike lanes in Option D and the exclusion of on-street parking.

For both east and west of Hamilton on Sprague Avenue Options A and B were favorable, similar to the west side.

Where We Go From Here:

The feedback received from the workshop will guide the process for identifying and refining the preferred design alternatives. Comments received from the public open house, stakeholder interviews, project team and advisory team will further analyze the feasibility of the alternatives, addressing traffic impacts and operational characteristics, and coordination with concurrent street projects. The analysis will result in an illustrative plan and implementation strategy, as well as necessary updates to the Comprehensive Plan.

In March 2012, the draft plan will be presented to the public at the final open house. Based on feedback received from this event, the project team will create a second draft and final plan for adoption in April of 2012.

Keep coming back to this blog for more updates.

Workshop Summary Memo & Results

2011-12-22T11:59:00.000-08:00

Now available under Citizen Resources is the Community Workshop Summary Memo! It includes the results from the survey that was given at the workshop.

Workshop Wrap Up

2011-12-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

Again thank you to everyone who showed up at the Community Workshop last week! We were very impressed with the turn out and are glad that the community is so engaged in the project. For those who didn't make it to the workshop or for those who want to take a look at the material that was presented again, I have uploaded all the documents including the PowerPoint under the Citizen Resources tab.

Following the presentation by MIG citizens were asked to participate in two different activities the first was focused on the South University Land Use Alternatives and the second was focused on the Sprague Corridor Street Design Alternatives.

The first activity asked the participants to rate three different land use options one with an Employment Focus, another with an Urban Village Focus and the last with an Institutional Focus. Each participant rated the three land use alternatives based on the following planning principles:

Land Use:

· Increasing housing options.

· Redeveloping underutilized properties.

· Maintaining affordability.

· Creating a more walkable neighborhood.

· Improving public utilities and infrastructure.

Sense of Place:

· Creating a destination.

· Improving physical aesthetics.

· Preserving historic assets.

· Improving public safety.

Environment:

· Reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.

· Incorporating green infrastructure and building techniques.

· Creating a better jobs-education-housing balance.

Transportation and Parking:

· Reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT).

· Improving multimodal safety and operations.

· Maintaining or increasing traffic carrying capacity.

· Maintaining or enhancing on-street parking.

· Improving connectivity to adjacent areas.

Using the scale below participants rated each land use alternative that they felt best fulfilled the planning principles.

Below are the three land use maps that were presented. By clicking on the titles above the maps you will be able to view the maps in greater detail.

Employment Focus:

Urban Village Focus:

Institutional Focus:

Activity two required participants to choose from five street designs that could potentially be used on Sprague Avenue. For the purposes of the workshop Sprague Avenue was split into two sections.

Participants were asked to rate each alternative on a range from “unsure/need more information” to “I love the design!” Below are the five design alternatives that were presented.

Option A includes:

-Two 11' travel lanes

-16' landscaped median/left turn lane

-8'-10' sidewalks with street trees on both sides

-8' on-street parking/landscaped curb

Option B:

-Two 11' travel lanes

-10' landscaped median/left turn lane

-11'-13' sidewalks with street trees on both sides

-8' on-street parking on both sides

Option C:

-Two 11' travel lanes

-6' bike lane (one way/westbound)

-10' landscaped median/left turn lane

-8'-10' sidewalks

-8' on-street parking on both sides

Option D:

-Two 11' travel lanes

-Two 7' bike lanes

-12' landscaped median/left turn lane

-11'-13' sidewalks with street trees on both sides

Option E:

-Two 10' travel lanes

-10' separated, two-way bike lane

-10' left turn lane

-8'-10' sidewalks, with street trees on one side

-8' on-street parking on both sides

By mid-January the Alternatives Analysis with transportation forecasts will be available to view. But before that there will be a post early next week depicting the results from the workshop.

Remember as well that all documents can be found under the Citizen Resources tab.

Thanks for Participating

2011-12-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who came to the Community Workshop last night! We had a great turnout of 65 people (very impressive), it was great to hear your feedback! There will be new information uploaded from the workshop under the Citizen Resources early next week.

Community Workshop!

2011-12-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

Great press for the Community Workshop Tonight Check it out and make sure to come down and help determine the future of Sprague Avenue and University District!

http://www.krem.com/news/local/City-officials-want-to-revamp-Sprague-Avenue-135170408.html

New E-Newsletter!

2011-11-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

The new e-newsletter is now available under the Citizens Resource tab. This is a great overview of the project and will get you ready for the Community Workshop that is coming up on December 7th!

New Documents!

2011-11-22T12:40:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

Hope you are having a great week! Just wanted to let you all know that I just added a few new documents under the Citizen Resources tab. These are great documents to get you ready to participate in the Community Workshop on Dec. 7th!

Community Workshop!

2011-11-16T10:45:00.000-08:00

Existing Conditions and Opportunities

2011-11-08T11:51:00.000-08:00

On Oct. 25^th, 2011 MIG was back in town for not only the Central City Mobility Open House but the Staff and Advisory Team meetings. The meetings began with an overview by MIG of the Existing Conditions Analysis document. This highlighted the many completed studies previously completed regarding or including the University District-Sprague Corridor. The presentation also looked at the existing physical characteristics of the study area; the characteristics were broken down into land use and development, infrastructure and transportation. Review of existing conditions of the land use and development patterns will help to provide a solid foundation for future land use and street design alternatives in the future.

Here are some of the important facts that were presented:

The South University District is a subarea of the 770 acre University District;
Division St. provides the only direct access to I-90 and the major medical campuses to the south as well as to north to the rest of the University District;
Prior to construction of I-90 in 1970’s Sprague was the primary route linking east and west Spokane;
The 2010 total estimated population in the South University District was 330 residents in 2008;
Most of the study area is zoned General Commercial;
Height limits in the South University District range from 35ft to 12 stories to no limit;
There are over 300 businesses within the district;
There are no parks or open space within the study area;
Underdeveloped land accounts for the second largest share of the total land-use with 37.9% of the total parcels;
The placement and layout of many of the buildings in the study area is auto-oriented;
Bus Route 90 serves the area with 15 minute headway.

MIG then discussed the different sustainability aspects of the study area and identified opportunities to improve sustainable design and development. MIG used the LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND) rating system to rate the current sustainability aspects of the study area currently and how it may be improved in the future. LEED ND integrates the principles of smartgrowth, new urbanism, and green building into a national system for neighborhood design. The rating system includes five topic areas: smart location and linkage, neighborhood pattern and design, green infrastructure and buildings, innovation and design process, and regional priority credit.

Sprague Ave. met or exceeded 4 requirements, partially met 4 requirements and did not meet 4 requirements and 2 other requirements needed more research to know if they were met or not.

MIG explained how the application of LEED ND design requirements served to identify how existing conditions can be altered to maximize future opportunities for green development within the South University District and Sprague Avenue Corridor. These opportunities are explained below:

Location: Proximity to different neighborhoods and amenities makes the UDSC uniquely suitable for spawning growth and change, with a focus on sustainability.

Transit: Denser, more walkable development requires excellent proximity and access to transit, allowing residents and visitors to move around the City and the area without reliance on cars.

Street System: With abundant street width, there is excellent potential for redesigning and redeveloping existing streets to safely and efficiently accommodate all modes.

Healthy Foods: Access to markets and healthy foods are important components of a livable neighborhood. The existing infill areas provide excellent opportunities for community gardens, while vacant or underused buildings can be converted for grocery stores or markets.

Connectivity: Projects such as the pedestrian/bicycle bridge connecting to the University District will create new opportunities for development in the study area.

Neighborhood Amenities: With support from organizations such as the Spokane International District and the East Sprague Business Association, there is an emergence of several new initiatives to attract more amenities into the study area.

In the Staff Meeting (as depicted in the picture) were asked what they felt the future of Sprague Avenue would be these were their answers:

A safe corridor defined by segments and nodes (break-up the streetscape);
Location of infill student housing;
A place that has a balance between transportation and destination;
An attractive pedestrian environment with improved streetscape;
Double the amount of commerce in the area;
Parking that is located behind and beside busy streets (majority of parking to be moved off Sprague);
A place that moves more traffic including pedestrian and auto.

The meeting participants were then asked to identify what the future of the University District would be, these were their answers:

A place that offers incentives, for example multi-family tax exemptions;
A place for start-up businesses;
A place that embraces existing and future businesses;
A place that has the potential for attracting new businesses;
A continued sense of an “organic” eclectic feel;
A place that has residential, infill/reused areas and parks and open space;
A place that has a greater emphasis on bikes and pedestrians.

During the Advisory Team meeting (as depicted in the picture below) the same questions were asked here are their answers:

The Future of Sprague Avenue:

A place where visitors come to stop and shop;
A place with more amenities and destinations;
A place that includes gateways;
A place that has a beneficial relationship between University District and adjacent uses.

The Future of South University District:

A place with opportunities for investments (with incentives);
A place that leverages adjacent uses;
Increase in residential uses and higher density mixed in;
A place that maintains a 2-3 story building height along Sprague;
A place with opportunities for business growth and retention;
A place that is walkable with pedestrian amenities;
Transit oriented development;
A place that is like Portland’s Alameda Neighborhood;
An ‘up and coming’ urban village.

If you want to give your feedback or leave comments please do. If you would like to participate in person Wednesday, December 7th will be a community workshop held at the South University Complex (the Bookie) from 5-7pm, your participation is greatly encouraged!

Participation!

2011-10-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

Did you show up for the Central City Mobility Open House? If you answered no, let me tell you about it, if you answered yes, tell me about it. If you were there and would like to share your experience please leave a comment and let your fellow citizen learn from your experience.

The Central City Mobility Open House was the first of many opportunities for the public to participate and weigh-in on the University District-Sprague Corridor Planning Study. There was a great turnout and extremely good feedback given by all who attended. Mayor Verner showed up to give a great speech about all the projects represented that night.

For the Sprague Corridor Study participants were asked to place a dot on where and how they use the University District and the Sprague Corridor. Your dot was then placed on a map indicating the location of where live, work or do business.

Next participants were asked to place 10 dots on their top ten goals for the study area plan to accomplish. Ranging from land use visions to transportation visions; it was difficult for many participants to pick their top ten out of the twenty choices that were provided.

In the last stage of the activity participants were asked to place stickers on a map of the Sprague Corridor indicating where they see there are problems.

The participants were asked to give their thoughts on what they believe Sprague and the University District should look like in the future. Using post-it notes participants placed their visions on a map of the study area.

Come and participate at the next public workshop on December 7th in the South University Complex (Bookie Building). We hope to see you there!

Central City Mobility Open House

2011-10-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

Remember tomorrow is the Central City Mobility Open House from 5-7pm!

Central City Mobility Open House

When: October 25th, 5-7pm

Where: The Bookie-410 E. Spokane Falls Blvd.

The 3rd in a series of transportation open houses, a great opportunity to view/learn/comment on multiple transportation projects happening in Spokane under one roof. Projects include:

City's University District-Sprague Corridor Planning Study
Inland Pacific Hub
City's University District Pedestrian/Bicycle Bridge
STA-led Central City Transit Alternative Analysis & High Performance Transit Alternative
City's Pedestrian Plan
Spokane UCommmute
Spokane Regional Health Departments Stickman
Complete Streets Coalition

E-Newsletter

2011-10-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

The October E-Newsletter has arrived and is available for your viewing pleasure. The newsletter can be found by clicking here . This is a good way to catch up on anything you don't already know.

Also coming up next week Tuesday the 25th is your chance to come and meet the project team and give your input on this project and many others at the Central City Mobility Open House. Check the calender for more details on this event.

Kick-Off

2011-10-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was the official kickoff of the University District-Sprague Corridor Study. MIG consultants arrived in Spokane to begin their interviews with 8 key stakeholders and to meet with the Advisory Team, UDAC (University District Advisory Committee) and UDSC Staff Team. It was a long day of meetings full of great suggestions and ideas. Each meeting was filled with people that were invested in the future of the University District and Sprague Corridor.

On Friday the MIG Team participated in a tour of the study area with City staff and the Project Team focusing on the Sprague corridor and the land uses adjacent to the roadway.

This is just the beginning of a 6-month process to get Spokane closer to an end product. This is a public process and your input means a lot to the future of the U-District area and the Sprague Corridor. To be sure that all members of the community have the ability to be involved this blog has been created in addition to mailers, press releases, news stories, a web page and e-newsletters.

The ultimate goal for this project is to ensure that your voice is heard in this project. We want to see your faces and hear your suggestions and opinions, this is how we can ensure that the alternatives that come out of this process are indicative of what the City of Spokane citizens can stand behind.

The Calendar section of this blog will keep citizens updated on all upcoming public participation opportunities. First on the calendar is the Central City Mobility Open House on Oct. 25th in the Bookie Building located in the south Riverpoint Campus.