Couplet will remain as is for now

Spokane Valley City Council members attempted to resolve, once and for all, the question of whether Sprague Avenue along the Valley couplet will be returned to a two-way street, but they eventually decided against making that decision until ongoing studies surrounding the blighted retail strip are completed.

“I just think it’s time to make a clear statement that we don’t intend to reverse Sprague back to a two-way,” Councilman Mike DeVleming said. He made a motion to send the Chamber of Commerce and other organizations a letter to that effect, citing businesses that have investments and leases in limbo because of the city’s indecision on the issue.

“I just think we owe that to the business community,” he said.

The one-way/two-way issue resurfaced at the meeting Tuesday following a report by senior engineer Steve Worley on a study related to completing Appleway along a vacant railroad corridor from University Road east to about Flora Road.

Consultants are still tweaking traffic modeling software, now in its 26th version, that will help predict the traffic load on Valley streets in the future, he said.

Engineers hope to finish the study in the next few months. The project must be in the Spokane Regional Transportation Council’s road plan by July to remain eligible for $4.2 million in state funds.

The results of the modeling are crucial because the city has to prove there will be enough traffic to justify the project before the SRTC includes it in the plan.

Reaction to DeVleming’s proposal at the meeting was mixed.

“Let’s put this to bed,” said Councilman Steve Taylor, seconding the motion to make it clear that the city intends to keep that portion of Sprague one-way.

Taylor and DeVleming faced the couplet question frequently during the last election, and both maintained that the public overwhelmingly supports leaving the couplet the way it is.

Businesses originally supported the couplet idea when Spokane county built the road five years ago, fearing the alternatives would pull customers away from Sprague. But later, business owners along the couplet pressured politicians to reverse traffic on Sprague, saying that the one-way traffic hurt their bottom line.

Councilman Dick Denenny, though, questioned the usefulness of the motion, saying that a future council easily could change the one-way policy.

“To say that you are going to leave things the way they are is saying nothing,” he said.

DeVleming later withdrew the request, and Councilman Rich Munson made a motion to make Sprague two-way from University to Dishman-Mica Road for the sake of continuing the discussion.

In couplet surveys, he said, the public was not asked about reversing traffic on a smaller section of the road, and doing so would reduce accidents at University where the couplet ends.

“I would not support that unless I had more (monetary) support” from the community, Councilman Gary Schimmels said, citing the construction costs associated with reversing the traffic.

“In my feeble mind it’s a misuse of public money,” said Councilman Mike Flanigan. “All it is is a political statement.”

Mayor Diana Wilhite also said a decision on the issue would be premature before the studies and planning for the area have been completed.

“To me, it seems that we are putting the cart before the horse,” she said.

Representatives from business organizations in the audience also made comments to that effect.

The motion to reverse part of the couplet failed 6 to 1, with Munson voting for it.

If the state funding becomes available, construction on the project would likely start in 2007 or 2008, Worley said.