Spokane streets embarrassing

Here it is, past the midpoint of August, and 2017 is two-thirds over. Yet here it is, and the residential streets on the northeast side have not been cleaned yet. What is the Street Department doing? We used to have three citywide cleanings a year: spring, summer and fall, along with leaf pickup and crack sealing. Now it’s budgeted for only one cleaning, and they haven’t gotten around to that yet.

The gravel from last winter still sits on the sides. The north-south hill streets have gravel sticking out five feet from the curb. The mayor’s office was called, as he is in charge of the Street Department, and was referred the Street Department. The streets are an embarrassment when visitors come to town, full of bumps, potholes and filthy dirty.

A friend who grew up here, came home from Denver to visit, and as I played tour guide driving her around; her comment was: “Spokane sure is looking rundown.” Shame on the mayor for cutting the budget to keep our streets clean and maintained.

Richard Trerise

Spokane