Rest stop starts new life as park with reopening

A rest area along Interstate 90 is letting people rest once again. But this time, the site could be more of a destination than a pit stop for weary travelers.

Spokane County is holding a reopening ceremony this morning for Gateway Park, which includes a rest stop just north of Exit 299 on Interstate 90. The rest area was closed about five years ago, but county leaders have agreed to lease it from the state for a buck.

County leaders say the 17 acres of state land around the rest stop combined with 32 adjacent acres purchased by the county in 2004 provides public access to the Spokane River and the Centennial Trail.

Parking, restrooms and picnic tables are ready for use, said parks director Doug Chase. The Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau will start providing tourist information at the rest area by the end of the month.

“This is the gateway to Washington,” said Randy Barcus, chairman of the county’s Parks Advisory Committee. “We felt it was very important to provide a facility … for tourists coming in from the east.”

The park will cost the county about $85,000 a year to operate, Chase said. The county will also spend about $55,000 this year to create a new entrance.

That’s money Commissioner Phil Harris said would be better spent elsewhere. If it’s important to have a rest stop at the site, the state should continue to pay for it, he said this week.

“There’s a lot of stuff that we need to do in our own parks,” Harris said. “I just can’t see how it will be helping the county.”

Of the land owned by the county, seven acres were bought with Conservation Futures funds and must remain in their natural state. The other property was purchased with a state grant.

The county’s parks committee recently recommended that three acres of the site be turned into an off-leash dog park. That idea has not yet been considered by county commissioners.