Indiana/Mission avenues connection being considered

Spokane Valley Mall is less than a mile from Mary Pollard’s door, but for the north Greenacres neighbor getting there involves five stoplights and two trips over the interstate.

On a bad day, the journey takes about 15 minutes. But plans are in the works to link north Greenacres to the mall area by possibly joining Indiana and Mission avenues. The two streets are currently separated by about 100 yards of barren, boulder-ridden land owned by Centennial Properties. Centennial is expressing interest in having the roads connected.

“I would encourage the city to take a hard look at it,” said Wayne Frost, Centennial Property’s chief executive. Centennial is a subsidiary of Cowles Publishing Co., owners of The Spokesman-Review.

Connecting the north Greenacres neighborhood with Indiana isn’t on Spokane Valley’s six-year road plan, but it was in the long-term plans of Spokane County, which controlled road development in the area before residents incorporated into Spokane Valley in 2003.

Proposals being considered include connecting Indiana directly to Mission, but also connecting Indiana to Boone Avenue, an incomplete road with the potential to expand onto unused railroad right of way. An improved Boone could follow the right of way, eventually connecting with Cataldo right beside Interstate 90.

Pollard and her north Greenacres neighbors are polling each other now to see which connection to Indiana would be more popular. Both Mission and Boone could come into play in the long run.

At a neighborhood meeting last week, traffic engineers with Spokane Valley and Washington state emphasized the need for better traffic connections through the area due to expected home construction. The Indiana connection would give the neighborhood quick access to Sullivan Road, a major corridor to Interstate 90, Sprague Avenue and Trentwood.