Transients part of cityscape

Really, Spokane? After several days in Seattle and Portland, we returned to the Aug. 17 headline about the Spokane Transit Authority Plaza being doomed. Delicate feathers have been ruffled, it seems.

In Seattle, we stayed in Belltown and had many opportunities for feather-ruffling as we ventured to the Pike Street Market, Post Alley, Westlake and the aquarium. It never occurred to us that we shouldn’t patronize businesses because the undesirables were there, too (during Hempfest, even). Well, guess what, kids? It’s a part of urban living. Ditto for our Portland experience.

The Plaza isn’t the problem. The …

Really, Spokane? After several days in Seattle and Portland, we returned to the Aug. 17 headline about the Spokane Transit Authority Plaza being doomed. Delicate feathers have been ruffled, it seems.

In Seattle, we stayed in Belltown and had many opportunities for feather-ruffling as we ventured to the Pike Street Market, Post Alley, Westlake and the aquarium. It never occurred to us that we shouldn’t patronize businesses because the undesirables were there, too (during Hempfest, even). Well, guess what, kids? It’s a part of urban living. Ditto for our Portland experience.

The Plaza isn’t the problem. The thousands of people who pass through the Plaza daily are like water over a wound. Troubled people are there because there’s little else for them to do. They’re also at Sprague and Browne, and (gasp) Riverfront Park!

I take the bus downtown when I have business to attend to. I have a car and could drive and park. It’s a conscious choice. A city that hopes to ascend to civilized status should promote a vital, central transit hub, not kick transit users to the fringe.

By the way, Boise is building a central transit hub right in the middle of its downtown.

Michael Loundagin

Spokane