Manito Park Changes Will Be Presented At Meeting

Construction of a new parking lot and changes to the street system around the Manito Park duck pond will be the subject of a neighborhood meeting next Thursday.

“The more people we tell about it, the better,” said Elizabeth Godlewski, a member of the Manito/Cannon Hill Neighborhood Council.

Parks Department officials will be on hand to explain preliminary design drawings for the changes at lower Manito Park.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Wilson Elementary School.

Anyone interested in learning more about the project is asked to attend. Invitations have gone out to other South Side neighborhood councils.

“They are trying to get the word out to everyone,” said James Gibson, construction manager for a series of park improvements OK’d by voters last year. The work around the duck pond is part of a $15 million bond issue that will also bring expansion of Riverfront Park, new playground equipment throughout the city, completion of at least three new parks, and pool rehabilitation.

David Evans and Associates Inc. of Spokane has been hired to design the improvements at the Grand Boulevard entrance and duck pond.

The firm has proposed construction of a new parking lot for 71 cars just south of the existing entrance driveway known as Park Drive. It would be placed on the low-lying lawn that is often too wet for use.

The lawn would be replaced by closing Tekoa Street where it turns west to connect with 18th Avenue next to the duck pond.

The idea is to stop commuters from using the park as a shortcut through the area. A traffic circle and small parking area would be added at the end of Tekoa.

A section of Shoshone Avenue next to the duck pond restrooms would be removed.

The result will be an increase in park green space, parks officials said.

Sidewalks, landscaping and an improved pond embankment are included in the project.

The cost of the improvements was estimated at $710,000, but Gibson said he believes the actual price may be less than that.

The design is consistent with a Manito Park master plan approved several years ago.

The street closure was controversial at that time, but so far the changes proposed this year have been met with little criticism.

Members of the Friends of Manito supported the project design at a meeting earlier this month, Gibson said.

A public meeting in late March drew only a handful of neighbors, who did not lodge any big objections. They asked about details such as the design’s ability to accommodate buses.

“I haven’t had any objections to anything,” Gibson said.

He hopes to put the project out for bid at midsummer so work can begin in September.