Council discusses narrowing Broadway

Spokane Valley is floating the idea of narrowing part of Broadway from four lanes to three – a proposal that’s come up in the past only to be shot down by residents who like the road the way it is.

“This is a pretty serious safety issue, and we have an opportunity to make that road right without it costing us anything,” Councilman Mike DeVleming said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Pavement will be replaced on Broadway from Sullivan to just east of Bowdish this summer. Since crews will be repainting the lane lines anyway, the council recently asked city engineers to bring them information on changing the four-lane section between Sullivan and Pines.

If a center turn lane were added, there would be room for bike lanes on each side but only one lane of traffic each direction. At a presentation at Tuesday’s meeting, engineers also said the three-lane configuration would reduce accidents.

The City Council hasn’t made a commitment, though. Councilman Rich Munson said there would be a lot of resistance to the change based on testimony at a meeting he once attended with county engineers on the same topic.

“This is a very controversial subject,” he said.

DeVleming disagreed.

“I think most of the public is going to be right behind us,” he said.

The council called for more research, including detailed accident numbers and will discuss Broadway again at its next study session May 16.

The council won’t have much time to make a decision. The road project is scheduled to start in June, and holding a public hearing could delay the project two to three months, engineers said.