Cda Development Needs Public’S Help

These are exciting times for Coeur d’Alene.

Progress is everywhere. Parks are being built. A Spokane developer has announced plans to transform the western entrance to the city into appealing office and residential space. North Idaho College is planning to expand to keep up with its growing enrollment. And now, a Portland consulting firm is bringing the crown jewel of all this activity into focus: public waterfront redevelopment.

For good reason, many residents have been skeptical about the push to reconfigure the waterfront. After all, the north shore looks good as is, with its four ball fields, City Park, City Beach and Tubbs Hill. Also, residents recall various attempts by special-interest groups to co-opt their piece of paradise.

The updated plans unveiled last week by Walker-Macy should allay some of the community’s fears. The plans call for upgrading the recreation areas at McEuen and Memorial fields. Plus, they propose innovative additions that could make the waterfront a gathering place and cultural center.

That’s not to say everything’s perfect. The consultants repeated a historic mistake by leaving a two-block parking lot on the waterfront, rather than placing it somewhere else downtown. And, in one proposal, they added a new library alongside the huge lot, on the northeast corner of McEuen Field. That arrangement would obscure the view of Tubbs Hill and the waterfront for three blocks, from Fourth to Seventh streets. The view must be protected. Period.

Still, the potential redesign is promising, particularly the part stretching from Independence Point north through City Park and Memorial Field. It would expand green space by removing a small parking lot, add an arts center and a streetcar station alongside City Park, and transform historic Memorial Field into a bona fide field of dreams. That, and incorporate popular Skate Park into the design.

Twenty-five years ago, Spokane leaders had the vision and courage to build a world’s fair, redeveloping an old railroad yard into Riverfront Park. Today, the park remains a gathering place and source of community pride.

As Coeur d’Alene stands on the brink of a new millennium, it, too, has a chance to make changes that will be heralded well into the 21st Century. It remains to be seen if the community has the gumption to follow through.