Business association urged in Logan
Alliance would embody merchants along North Hamilton and nearby streets
Leaders of the Logan Neighborhood Council are urging the formation of a business association along the busy commercial area of North Hamilton Street to give the neighborhood more influence over future improvements, public safety and commercial opportunities.
A group of about eight business people have met twice in recent months as a kind of founder group for a potential business association, said Karen Byrd, chair of the Logan Neighborhood Council.
The business association would represent interests of merchants along North Hamilton and adjacent streets, she said. “I see that Hamilton corridor as having so much potential,” Byrd said.
Gretchen Weikleenget, owner of Gretchen’s Hair Studio, 1711 N. Hamilton St., said she’s supporting the business association as a way to bring business people in the area together.
Byrd said that North Hamilton traffic has long been a problem in the area because it poses a risk for pedestrians crossing the busy arterial. She said the area needs sidewalk and street improvements to increase pedestrian safety, an issue that a business association could articulate to government officials.
According to Byrd, many elderly people live in the area, and they need to be safe when they are walking. Also, a large number of Gonzaga University students patronize businesses on both sides of Hamilton, and are at risk when they cross the street, she said.
The sidewalks along the street could be improved with more trees, benches and other amenities, Byrd said.
In addition to traffic problems, crime, including vandalism and graffiti, is a constant problem in the area. The business association would work with the neighborhood’s police resource officer on those issues.
Byrd said the idea for the business association is being promoted by leaders of the neighborhood council, who believe that creating an organized voice among business people would benefit the entire neighborhood. Other neighborhoods in the city have seen improvements after businesses became organized, she said.
The long-range goal of the neighborhood leaders is to reduce traffic on Hamilton and possibly have it reconfigured with one lane in each direction with angle parking for businesses, but that change won’t be possible until a North Spokane freeway is completed and opened, Byrd said.