Bike workshop draws crowd

Spokane Valley’s first workshop Wednesday on its new Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan was swamped by bicycle riders who shared their opinions on where the city should add bike lanes and paths. Several also said they were there to support the Broadway Avenue Safety Project, which would restripe Broadway from Pines to Park to include bike paths. The Spokane Valley City Council seems poised to suspend the project at its next meeting on June 29.

About 40 people packed the City Council chambers for the meeting and bicycles were lined up against the wall outside the room. Mayor Tom Towey was in attendance, as were council members Bill Gothmann and Brenda Grassel.

Residents attending the meeting told city staff that avid and recreational bicyclists need bike paths to be safer. Several spoke of close calls they’ve had on the roadways. Before the meeting began resident Cathy Harris told of being in a group of 18 bicyclists on the Palouse Highway that was nearly mowed down by a drunk driver last week. “He was over the white line,” she said. “He was on us so fast, we didn’t have time to do anything.”

The driver missed some riders by mere inches. Harris said the group first thought the driver did it on purpose. “Cyclists are so used to that sort of behavior,” she said. “I’ve had a guy reach out from the passenger side (of a car) and hit me.”

Harris said she was attending the meeting to promote biking and also to make her opinion known on the Broadway Avenue Safety Project. She said she was “annoyed” that the city council wants “to give back that huge grant and take a step backward.”

The meeting was also underscored by an accident Wednesday afternoon that injured East Valley High School Assistant Principal John Savage. He frequently commutes to work on his bicycle and was going home from school heading south on Sullivan, where there are no bike lanes. He was on the Trent overpass at the traffic light. “John had a green (light) but was up on the sidewalk,” said East Valley Superintendent John Glenewinkel. A truck that had just exited Trent apparently attempted to take a right on the red light and Savage collided with the truck.

“They didn’t see each other,” Glenewinkel said. Luckily Savage was wearing a helmet. “He’s very, very sore and very, very scraped up. It had the potential to be a very tragic accident. I think he feels very fortunate.”

Sullivan Road was one of the streets the bicyclists at the meeting said was dangerous and needed improvement. As residents introduced themselves, some mentioned wanting sidewalks and bike lanes around schools, better routes from south Spokane Valley to the Centennial Trail, and better access to recreation areas.

“We’d like to find out what areas you are interested in going to and what mode you would like to use to get there,” said planner Mike Basinger.

They divided into groups and each group had a map to mark which streets they thought should have sidewalks and bike paths added. Sullivan was mentioned, as was Sprague, sections of Evergreen and 16th, Flora and University.

Those attending the meeting had a longer list of problem areas, mostly because of cross traffic and/or lack of bike lanes. They brought up Pines and Argonne as particular problem areas, as well as South Bowdish, Dishman-Mica, crossing points over I-90 and the Spokane River and the intersection of 16th and Pines.

Harris said that a section of 32nd from Sullivan to Best is indicated as a “suggested commuter and recreation route” on a regional map of bike routes, yet it has no designated bike lane, no shoulders and numerous potholes.

Basinger said he would analyze the input from the comments and the maps and make up a map of suggested routes that will be posted on the city’s website when complete. Another public workshop on the Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan is tentatively scheduled for September. The plan is expected to be complete by August 2011.