Sidewalk Projects Ok’D By City Walkways Will Be Laid Along Freya And Standard Streets

The city of Spokane has approved two sidewalk construction projects as a part of the Pedestrian Safety and Mobility Program.

State and local funds will be used to lay stretches of sidewalk along North Freya Street from Liberty Avenue to LaCrosse Avenue and along North Standard Street from Wedgewood Avenue to Cozza Drive.

The Pedestrian Safety Program is a five-year program that started in 1998 to provide and maintain safe mobility for walkers and joggers.

The Standard Street project will tie in designs from a 1998 project that will continue pavement work on Cozza from Colton Street to Standard/Wedgewood.

City engineers were in the process of finishing 1999 designs on Cozza when the Standard project was approved, so it made sense to tie the two together, said Jerry Sinclair, senior engineer for the city.

“Any new project takes a year to put something on the ground,” Sinclair said.

While the Standard and Cozza project should be completed this year, construction for the Freya project will not begin until next year, Sinclair said.

For the last two years, Sandy Smith, a member of Nevada/Lidgerwood’s neighborhood council, has been scouting for blocks in her neighborhood that need sidewalks or sidewalk repairs.

“I have seen mothers and families pushing strollers up the street because there are no sidewalks,” Smith said.

A few scattered sidewalk improvements are scheduled this summer on sections of Morton, Wiscomb and Wiele streets and Rowan avenue.

Community development funds are matched by state funds from gas tax money approved by the Transportation Improvement Board. This way, the neighborhood is required to come up with 20 percent of the cost.

They Freya project will cost the city $80,000, while the Standard project will cost $150,000.