Stepping out

Take it one step at a time. The sage advice is applied to everything from work stress to quit-smoking programs. But Spokane Valley resident Connie Nelson takes the proverb literally. She frequently walks the 11/2-mile loop around her neighborhood. During that time, Nelson decompresses, enjoys the scenery and connects with neighbors in a way that harkens back to an earlier era.

“I’ve met the widow who grieves for her husband and best friend, her next-door neighbor who keeps an eye on her, bought lemonade from the kids … and shared gardening tips and plant starts with my walk-about acquaintances,” Nelson wrote in response to a Spokesman-Review inquiry.

Although the Valley, with its few sidewalks and high dependence on automobiles, isn’t known for its walkability, residents still make an effort to step out. And while the temptation to plug in a treadmill or head straight for the Centennial Trail can be strong, some walkers prefer a more rugged, urban route – even if it means dodging traffic.

“Walking outside versus a treadmill is more interesting since one can see the change of seasons and brave the occasional rain shower,” wrote Chuck Trier. “Other walkers are friendly, and the occasional large dog gets barked down.”

Trier enjoys a 4.6-mile route on Evergreen and Sullivan roads, south of Sprague Avenue.

Barbara Rueppel used to walk through her neighborhood near Eighth Avenue and Pines Road, but the traffic was scaring her dachshund, Kassy.

“I ended up carrying (the dog) part of the way,” she wrote. Now, the pair walk on the playfield at McDonald Elementary instead. “It’s not as stressful on my little buddy.”

Bicycle diaries

Like walkers, bicycle riders also are committed to getting some exercise in the Valley.

Sharon Piper’s favorite route starts on Jensen Road, about a half mile west of the Bigelow Gulch Road and Argonne intersection. Jensen becomes Northwood Drive and then merges into Elton Road. Eventually it meets Upriver Drive near Pasadena Elementary School.

“Man, what a ride,” Piper wrote. “It’s long and it’s steep.”

Luckily, it’s steep in the downhill direction.

Piper dreads riding her bike south on Argonne Road where drivers turn west onto Interstate 90.

“I spend a moment in prayer, hoping that they see me before making that right turn,” she said. After surviving that, she faces the bridge over I-90.

“Here I have to choose: Do I squeeze in next to the cars in the lane only wide enough for a car … or do I ride the heart-stopping sidewalk, which is only about 18 inches wide with an 8-inch curb height?” Piper wrote.

Jim Nichols trades one danger (cars) for another (trains). He rides next to railroad tracks.

“Besides an occasional passing train or transient, it’s pretty quiet, and once you get outside populated areas the scenery is not bad,” Nichols wrote.

Gary Johnson has an unusual routine: He rides his bike for an hour between 10 p.m. and midnight. Armed with a 5-watt headlight (10 watts would be better, he said) and a blinking taillight, he feels safe.

“It’s quiet, there are few people and cars around, and I just enjoy the nighttime,” he wrote.

Johnson especially likes riding from his home, near 16th Avenue and Sullivan Road, to Liberty Lake and along the Spokane River in Greenacres.

There are some routes Johnson avoids, including Sprague Avenue between Sullivan Road and Appleway or Appleway from there to Broadway Road.

“… There are no bike paths – only sidewalks or gravel shoulders – so I stick to side streets,” he wrote.

Johnson said Valley streets, in general, aren’t bike friendly.

Judah LaRue, 14, knows too well how unfriendly biking conditions can be.

Judah was riding west on the sidewalk next to eastbound Sprague Avenue earlier this month when a driver pulling out of the Walgreens parking lot at Pines Road hit him.

“Basically he T-boned me,” Judah said. “I got up really quickly because I realized I (landed) on Sprague.”

An ambulance transported him to Sacred Heart Medical Center to treat an injury to his knee.

Judah goes everywhere on his bike, and the accident won’t deter that. He said Valley streets are, for the most part, safe but Sprague causes a predicament. Riding on the busy road itself is too dangerous but, as he knows now, riding on the sidewalk puts you that much closer to cars rushing out of business parking lots.

Riding bicycles on sidewalks is legal in the city of Spokane Valley, in most of Spokane and in unincorporated Spokane County. It’s illegal to ride on sidewalks in Liberty Lake and in downtown Spokane, however.

Judah suggested constructing more bike lanes to increase safety. But Alice Hostetter, founder of the Spokane Bicycle Club, said it also takes education on the part of some drivers. The Valley resident notices that when she’s in a bike lane and must swerve out of it to avoid broken glass or other debris, drivers become agitated.

Bicyclist Sharon Piper notes another safety hazard that likely applies to pedestrians, too. She said she’s always grateful to drivers who stop when they see her waiting to cross a road, but she almost always waves them on.

“I know from experience that drivers in other lanes cannot see me and will not stop simply because the first driver has stopped,” Piper said. “For my safety it is better to use my own eyes to make sure that there is no approaching traffic from either direction.”

Hostetter said she thinks the Valley has become more friendly to bicyclists during the last 30 years. When she and her husband first moved here from California, they were two of the few pedalers.

“When I got on my bicycle here they looked at us like we were from another planet,” she said.

Road work requirements

Typically, with each road construction project that’s completed, the city of Spokane Valley becomes safer for bicyclists and pedestrians. As long as state or federal funds help pay for the work, there’s usually a requirement to install bike lanes and sidewalks, Senior Engineer Steve Worley said.

While it’s true today that many sidewalks and bike lanes end after just a few blocks, putting the pedestrians and bicyclists back on the streets or shoulder, that will change over time as more road construction is needed.

“Obviously, there’s more work that needs to be done to make them all continuous,” Worley said.

Until every street has a sidewalk and every bike lane connects to another, though, residents will have to patchwork together their own perfect routes.

Nelson already has found hers.

During a particularly stressful time, her family had a saying: “Once around the subdivision was a stroll; two or more was a counseling session,” she wrote.

Her walks in the Evergreen Point neighborhood have brought her closer to her neighbors, including to a woman from India who speaks limited English but who has a “musical” laugh that transcends cultures.

They’ve also brought Nelson closer to her children, who occasionally join their mother.

“There are no interruptions, except those we choose to make,” Nelson said. “Rather (it’s) a quiet time to listen to the important, and not so important, happenings in their lives.”