A Bridge Project Divided Answers Tracked Down For Readers Who Sent In Questions About Project
The passage of time hasn’t erased controversy surrounding the $36 million Lincoln Street bridge proposal.
Five years after the Spokane City Council approved the project, it remains one of the city’s most talked-about topics.
Supporters say the project is needed to ease traffic congestion and improve air quality.
Opponents say the bridge will do more harm than good by destroying views of the lower falls.
The community’s divided sentiments became even more apparent last week when a committee charged with reviewing the project supported the bridge construction by a 9-8 vote.
The proposal calls for a four-lane, one-way bridge to align with Lincoln Street, carrying northbound traffic from downtown to Sinto Avenue. Eventually, the Monroe Street Bridge would be one-way southbound.
Plans also call for replacing the Post Street Bridge with a smaller, pedestrian bridge to take the Centennial Trail across the river.
The Spokesman-Review recently encouraged readers to send in their questions about the project. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions. The information came from a variety of sources, including city officials, the Spokane Regional Transportation Council, Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority and Friends of the Falls:
Question: Based on the current traffic and future projections, is the bridge needed?
Answer: Bridge critics note traffic counts downtown have dropped since 1987.
They produce graphs and computer-generated maps that show no congestion problems downtown through 2010, even without a new bridge. Bridge supporters say downtown revitalization will reverse the trend.
Q: Would the bridge improve air quality?
A: Critics point to recent improvements in Spokane’s air quality as proof the bridge isn’t needed. The county’s carbon monoxide violations have dropped from a high of 403 in 1976 to two in 1996.
Bridge supporters say they worry about the way traffic jams up at Monroe Street, Spokane Falls Boulevard and Main, and contend adding the Monroe-Lincoln couplet would alleviate the congestion. But critics counter that on a list of the county’s 40 most-congested spots, Monroe and Spokane Falls is ranked 33rd.
Building the bridge is part of an overall state plan mandated by the Department of Ecology to reduce countywide air quality problems, says Ron Edgars of the Spokane County Pollution Control Authority. If it isn’t built, the city would have to come up with another project aimed at improving traffic flow through downtown, Edgars says. He adds that while violations are way down, the county frequently comes close to exceeding its carbon monoxide limit.
Q: What’s going to happen to the Post Street Bridge?
A: The bridge is deteriorating and must be removed, city officials say. If the Lincoln Street bridge is built, the Post Street Bridge will be replaced by a pedestrian span that will take the Centennial Trail across the river. If the Lincoln Street bridge is scrapped, a new, traffic-bearing Post Street bridge must be built, officials say.
Q: If the Lincoln Street bridge isn’t built, what happens to the $27.43 million in state and federal money designated for the project?
A: The city has spent about $7 million on the project, including nearly $5.6 million in state and federal money. Spokane officials say they would negotiate with state and federal officials on how much of that would have to be repaid. The remaining state and federal money - $21.83 million - could not be spent by the city.
Q: Could the city’s share of the money for the bridge project be spent on street maintenance?
A: The city plans to spend at least $7.04 million from its share of state gas tax dollars on the bridge project. That money could be used on other projects, including street maintenance. But city officials say those dollars are best spent matching money from the state and federal government to build major capital projects.
The money could be used to match outside grants to replace the Post Street Bridge, which would cost about $12 million, or replace the deck on the Monroe Street Bridge, which would cost from $8 million to $10 million.
Q: Is the bridge an integral part of downtown redevelopment?
A: River Park Square’s developers say they incorporated the bridge into the design of the $100 million shopping center redevelopment project. “I have no idea what we’re going to do if there is no bridge,” says Betsy Cowles, president of Lincoln Investment Co. and Citizens Realty Co.
Q: How would open space along the Spokane River be affected if the bridge is constructed? If it’s not?
A: If the bridge is built, Bridge Avenue will be moved north and Veterans Court Park - on the north side of the river along Bridge between Monroe and Post - will be expanded. Riverfront Park will expand west by about 2 acres. The Centennial Trail will cross the river where the Post Street Bridge does now.
Friends of the Falls - a bridge opposition group - has park plans, too. The group is working to have the lower falls gorge area between the Monroe Street Bridge and the Post Street Bridge declared a national monument. It would like to see the current Huntington Park - a 5-acre strip owned by Washington Water Power Co. - redeveloped to include terraced landscaping, an elevator and a “grand staircase” that makes the park more accessible.
Q: How will the bridge affect views of the falls?
A: It depends on who’s asked. Project supporters say the bridge will improve views by increasing access. The bridge won’t hang directly above the falls but to the east of them, with the span crossing the southern corner of the 240-feet-wide concrete spillway built by WWP in 1889. Each of the bridge’s four corners will have 40-feet long viewpoints, and the pedestrian bridge will hang 30 feet above the water.
Critics say the bridge will destroy views of the falls, casting a shadow over the city’s most treasured asset. The roar of traffic will be louder than the roar of the water, they say.
Q: Plans call for the deck of the bridge to be 70 feet above the water, much higher than the current Post Street bridge. Does that mean the entrances to the bridge will be at sharp grades?
A: There will be a slope, but it won’t be terribly steep, says Jim Correll of CH2M Hill. Northbound drivers will go up at a 1 percent grade - 1 foot for every 100 feet of bridge. About halfway across the span, drivers will start back down again, this time at a 3 percent grade.
Q: Why was attendance so low at the recent citizens advisory committee meetings where the project was discussed?
A: Twenty-one people were on the original committee that chose the Lincoln Street bridge design in 1993. When City Council members reformed the committee in September, 13 more members were added. Mayor-elect John Talbott - who was on the 1993 committee - chose not to participate in the meetings, saying he needed to be open-minded about the recommendation. Eight members missed the first meeting, and 10 missed the second. By the final meeting, only 19 people showed up. “Several people let me know they couldn’t work it into their schedules,” chairman Don Barbieri says.
Q: How could Talbott’s opposition affect the project?
A: Throughout the campaign, Talbott was outspoken in his opposition, saying the bridge wasn’t needed. He also says he’d like the issue put to a public vote. As mayor, Talbott can’t stop the project - or force a public vote - unless he persuades at least three colleagues to go along. So far, only Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers has publicly opposed the bridge or pushed to let voters decide the project’s fate.
Q: What happens next?
A: That’s up to the City Council. Mayor Jack Geraghty says he wants to hear a report from the citizens advisory committee before the council decides what to do with the recommendation. Meanwhile, engineers are continuing the bridge design work, which should be completed in February. Unless the council calls a halt, the project moves ahead, with construction slated to begin this spring and end in the fall of 2000.
Q: Could citizens force a public vote on the bridge?
A: No, says City Attorney Jim Sloane. The City Council voted to build the bridge in 1992. Five years later, the project has moved long past the policy stage into the administrative stage, which means it no longer can be subject to a citizen referendum, Sloane says. Of course, that opinion could always be challenged in court.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos; 2 Drawings; 3 Graphics: Bridge expenses; Whether or not the Lincoln Street bridge is built, traffic will increase on all downtown bridges; How the finished Lincoln Street Bridge area would look