Vocal Point : Traffic flow under attack again

Ah jeez, there goes the neighborhood! The one stretch of concrete jungle that I truly love is, once again, under attack.

A commuter’s dream of a one-way westbound five-lane Sprague Avenue and a one-way eastbound four-lane Appleway Boulevard have been microscopically reviewed by the planners and engineers of Whiz-Bang U. They’ve decided it’s time to head ‘em up and change ‘em out which, in college-degree lingo means Sprague Avenue should be changed back to a two-way and Appleway Boulevard from Dishman-Mica to University should be converted to a two-way.

Sprague Avenue business owners have bemoaned the Appleway Boulevard couplet since car tires hit the concrete. Citing loss in revenue and exposure, their complaints have increased over time and with success as the Spokane Valley City Council tuned its ear to their protests, spending tons of money hiring engineers and urban planners to confirm the business owners are right and the commuters are wrong.

Good job, City Council! But how true are the business owners’ complaints? Granted, I’m no engineer or planner and I fall far short of the Whiz-Bang U level, but I have traveled Sprague Avenue from University to I-90 for 20 years on my work commutes.

Rarely, if ever, did I patronize the businesses along the way. The reasons are varied but most point to the fact that the businesses, except for Auto Row, are rundown. There’s something about stopping at a store with a rusted 1960 Chevy Impala parked outside, tires deflated and sitting below a torn sign in the store’s window proclaiming, ‘We Got Gas!’ that just doesn’t sound like my kind of place.

I’ve been following the proposals of converting the downtrodden corner of Sprague Avenue and University Road into a bustling downtown core complete with retail, parks and condos. The realization of this idea could be the turning point in Spokane Valley’s rise to actual citydom as opposed to our current sprawl that conveys we don’t know what the heck we’re doing.

And essential to this bustling downtown core will be ease of travel.

Allow me to take my fellow Valleyites back eight years. It’s 5:15 p.m. in the Inland Northwest. You successfully scoot off I-90 onto eastbound Sprague Avenue or turn from University onto westbound Sprague and bam! Bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Soon that juicy novel or several crossword puzzles kept tucked in the glove compartment are pulled out as you prepare to spend an hour negotiating the bump and grind to reach your destination a mere 2.6 miles away. Strange, but that store with the ‘We Got Gas’ sign looks a tad more inviting because right now, you’d risk life and limb for some refreshments.

OK, now I see the beauty of a two-way Sprague Avenue! Those $1.50 drinks and $3 dried up hot-dogs (not to mention the gas) pays the bills and puts money in the pocket. Why didn’t I see the connection before?

Perhaps it’s because for the past 10 years the businesses on Sprague Avenue between University and I-90 have been choking to death on their own volition not because Appleway Boulevard was constructed or Sprague Avenue was turned into a expansive, hard-to-keep- it-at-35-miles-per-hour (thank you, officer), five-lane, one-way corridor. Any fool or graduate from Whiz-Bang U could figure that out.

Sullivan has been exploding with new businesses for years. The Valley Mall, the eateries and Mirabeau Park with its meandering river, beautiful grounds, newly built community centers and YMCA simply propelled that explosion into a preferred retail location.

There is a simple solution but most likely the deaf would hear it before our City Council. As one city street planner said to me, “Sprague Avenue should be converted back to a two-way to alleviate the business losses and Appleway should remain a one-way to allow ease of travel for the commuters.” This practical solution entails a bit of give and take on both sides but would better the community as a whole.

But then what do I know. I didn’t graduate from Whiz-Bang U.