Comp Plan Amendments Being Accepted

Are there parts of the City of Spokane Comprehensive Plan that you believe need updating or ammended? The City of Spokane now is accepting applications for amendments to the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The Comp Plan is a 20-year guide for Spokane’s future growth and development. The annual amendment cycle provides an opportunity to propose amendments that address changing land use conditions or emerging issues.

Applications for amendments will be accepted until Friday, Oct. 30 for consideration. Those interested in amending the Plan must schedule a pre-application meeting prior to filing a request for amendment. Proposed amendments will be subject to review and a public hearing by the City’s Plan Commission before recommendations are made to the City Council.

For information, you can email Senior Planner Ken Pelton.

National Child Passenger Safety Week is Sept. 12-18

Did you know that Sept. 12-18 is National Child Passenger Safety Week and that nationwide, motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children? That's according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics.

Washington's Child Restraint Law includes:

- Children under 13 years old be transported in the back seat where it is practical to do so.

- Children up to their 8th birthday, unless they are 4'9" tall (57 inches), be transported in a child restraint system.

- The restraint system must be used according to the car seat AND vehicle manufacturer's instructions.

The Spokane County Traffic Safety Commission has more information on child passenger safety, including information on how to get your car seat or booster seat checked. Here's a link to their website and that info.

Pedestrian Plan Available For Review And Comment

For the past year, SRTC has been working with the Spokane Regional Health District and a couple other groups to develop a Spokane Regional Pedestrian Plan. Well, a draft is now complete and available for review and public comment. Click here to read it and here to submit a comment on it. You have until Oct. 12 to do so, so get reading.

Congratulations Ryan and Jennifer!

Congratulations to our Senior Transportation Planner Ryan who married his fiancee Jennifer last week! I suggested pooling our money and buying them a tandem bike for a wedding gift but no one listens to me.

Sprauge Avenue work will wrap up soon...

It's been a long summer for many businesses that had to endure the Sprauge Avenue repairs that strated in Spokane Valley in May, but all this is going to end soon. According the Mike Prager at the Spokeman Review, the work on Sprauge could wrap in in the next couple of weeks. Check out his story here.

Small-minded drivers deserve the pinky...

I was driving to work this morning and some kid who must have been late for the first day of school or something was speeding down the freeway... like he was trying to out run a cop or something.

Anyway, he was darting in out of traffic, and there were a couple close calls. I just thought to myself this small-minded person probably doesn't even realize the danger he poses to every law abiding driver on I-90. Then I get to work and find this video. I guess I am not the only one who thinks speeders are small-minded people... they even have a hand gesture for it!

Here are some of traffic obstructions in Spokane this week

* Mission Ave. from Greene St. to Trent Ave. and Myrtle St. from Mission to Trent avenues are closed until the second week in September. Local access is being maintained on Mission Ave. from Greene to Rebecca streets, and Spokane Community College and the City’s Fire Training Center are accessible from Greene St. Crews are doing sewer work.

* Eighth Ave. from Sunset Blvd. to Government Way remains closed as part of the Fish Lake Trail project. The project is progressing.

* City Street Department crews are out:

* Crack sealing 53rd Ave. from Crestline to Regal streets; Inland Empire Way from 28th Ave. to Hwy. 195; Fancher Rd. from Trent to Rutter avenues.; Chestnut Bridge from 17th to 18th avenues; and Marne Bridge from Clarke to Ash streets.

* Repairing Sunset Blvd. from Government Way to Cannon St. during working hours, motorists should expect closures and delays, and may want to drive an alternate route.

* Repairing potholes. Call 625-7733 to report a pothole; please include the location and the approximate size of the hole.

This could solve a lot of issues for bike commuters

Ok, so bike commuting to downtown Spokane just a got a little easier for those who are looking to park their bikes in a secure location. The City Ramp Parking Garage has set aside a secure room to park bikes for $1 a day, and there is a changing room that could eventually include showers if the bike parking thing takes off. Jon Speare blogged about it here on the Cycling Spokane Blog.

Ok, it may be time to face the music...

I know this has nothing to do with transportation, but in my quest to fill this blog beast with useful and professional information, I couldn't resist this topic. (OK, you guessed it, Staci is on vacation again and I'll admit, it's a slow news day, but keep reading. This is still interesting. I promise.)

I don't want to be counterproductive or anything, but if you are reading this blog everyday -- and you continued to read past my first paragraph -- it may be time to look deep inside yourself and then read this story.

/just sayin'

Rachel, Are You A Transportation Planner By Any Chance?

SRTC is short a Transportation Planner. If you've got experience, we want you! Here's a link to the job description and how to apply if you're interested.

Who Doesn't Want To Pull Their Canoe With A Bike?

Thanks to blogger Holly for sending me some fun, yet practical, links. And the best part? Her comments to sell them. Here's a look:

Have a canoe, but no vehicle to tow it? Here's your answer.

Because your toddlers saw you shaking your fist and witnessed a stray finger flying about during a heated road rage inspired interaction, you can no longer turn your back on them for a second.Here's where you can get it.

Need to haul your industrial strength hair dryer around the desert, but don't own an SUV or a droid to carry it for you? Hope your quads are made of steel, because this trailer can handle up to 100 pounds!

I don't know if this was photoshopped, but at first I thought it was an ad for IKEA... ANYONE UP FOR AN IKEA RUN? This actually came from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, demostrating how much you can do with your bike. Here's the story.

So what do you think? Need some new bike 'accesories?'

Fewer Expected To Travel For Holiday Weekend

This is your last chance before the kids go back to school! Quick, get on the road for one more road trip! While that sounds great, Triple A says fewer people will actually take to the road this holiday weekend- due to the late date of the holiday, and the fact that many kids are already back in school for the year.
Here's the story.

A Couple Of Things For Next Week

I'm on vacation next week and Jeff Selle will be sitting in behind the blog desk, so here are a couple of really early notices in case I forget to pass them on to Jeff to blog about:

- Next Wednesday, Sept. 9, from 9 a.m. until as late as 2:30 p.m., eastbound I-90 in the vicinity of the Hamilton Street Interchange will be reduced to two through lanes to accomodate bridge joint work.

- Beginning Tuesday, September 8, no turns from southbound or northbound US 195 to westbound Cheney-Spokane Road will be allowed. Traffic will need to access Cheney-Spokane Road via Qualchan Road, the intersection one mile to the south. Turns from Cheney-Spokane Road onto US 195 will be allowed. This restriction may be in place for several days. Crews are constructing an offset southbound right-turn lane at Cheney-Spokane Road along the old highway alignment.

Pass It On- Mark Fenton Is Coming To Town!

Anybody picked up the September issue of OutThere Monthly? If you have, you've probably noticed the interview with Mark Fenton, nationally-known pedestrian advocate extrordinaire.

We're teaming up with the Spokane Regional Health District and the YWCA/YMCA to bring Mr. Fenton to Spokane on Sept. 29 to train local leaders, planners, and engineers about how to make Spokane more walkable. There will also be a community meeting that night to let citizens know what their part in the process is.

If you're not familiar with Mark Fenton, here's the Q&A the magazine did with him. And for more information on the community meeting, click on the flyer above to see it full size. Feel free to print it and post it at your place of work, or pass it on to others who may be interested.

Holiday Closures

Monday is Labor Day, so this is your early reminder that all local government offices will be closed, including Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, etc. City Halls. Everything opens again at regular time on Tuesday.

Parking meters don’t have to be plugged on Labor Day in downtown Spokane and the Spokane City Council meeting for the week of Sept. 7 is cancelled due to lack of a quorum.

The Washington State Department of Transportation sent out notice yesterday that all construction work will be suspended on WSDOT highway construction projects statewide Monday. In fact, most construction around the state will be suspended Friday night and resume Tuesday, in order to reduce roadway congestion for weekend travellers.

Got A Good 'Active Transportation' Photograph?

This is the best I could do, a picture of a chicken on a bike, but you may be able to come up with something that will win the Alliance for Biking and Walking's 'People Powered Movement' photo contest.

The Alliance is holding the contest in order to gather good pictures of biking for a library that will provide free images to Alliance organizations. If you win, you get an all-expense paid bike trip to Tuscany and a year's supply of Clif Bars.

Here's more information, including judging criteria.

Hamilton On-Ramp Restricted Tomorrow

You can expect slow downs in the vicinity of the Hamilton exit on westbount I90 tomorrow. Beginning at about 9am until as late as 3pm, the westbound Hamilton on-ramp will be reduced to one lane so crews can do bridge deck repairs.

Ladies- Here's a Ride Just For You

Not splitting town for the holiday weekend? Then we've got something for you to do Monday morning. As a warmup for Spokefest, a group of women cyclists will meet monday, Sept. 7th at 11 a.m. at The Elk. They'll then ride for about an hour through Browne's Addition and along the river, and end up back at the Elk for lunch and/or beverages.

So ladies, bring your friends and your bike but keep in mind this event isn’t for speed; it’s to enjoy the company of other women cyclists. No one will be left behind, and all abilities are welcome.

Here's a link to the event's Facebook page for more info.

SRTC Mentioned In Newspaper Cartoon

Hey check it out! Someone actually knows that we exist and that we're working behind the scenes. Generally, we don't get a whole lot of media attention because we don't do construction projects of our own, we just help other local agencies to accomplish theirs. This cartoon ran in last week's edition of the Spokane Valley News Herald.

Man Killed By Train In Spokane Valley

Spokane Valley police are investigating the death of a man struck by a train and killed early this morning along the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railway line near North Park Road and East Trent Avenue.

Police have few details at this point, just that it happened around 1 a.m. There's really not enough information to judge at this point, but the 'Bridging the Valley' series of projects is designed to seperate trains from both vehicle and pedestrian traffic and may have been able to prevent an incident like this. Here's more on Bridging the Valley in case you're not familiar with it.