Slow your roll: Councilwoman wants to reduce speed limits near parks

With schools closed until at least the fall, city parks are already in heavy use.

Spokane City Councilwoman Lori Kinnear wants the people driving past them to slow down.

Kinnear has introduced a resolution, scheduled for a vote on Monday, that would call on the city to immediately reduce the speed limit to 20 mph around several city parks, including Manito, Mission and Audubon.

The speed limit on some streets near city parks already is reduced to 20 mph on a seasonal basis, but Kinnear wants those reductions to be made permanent.

“We would like to implement that speed limit now,” said Kinnear, who serves as chair of the Public Safety and Community Health Committee.

Kinnear proposes implementing the year-round speed limit reduction on a two-year pilot basis.

The action is intended to give the city’s streets department broad and clear direction, as opposed to receiving requests for a patchwork of streets and parks from individual council members and neighborhood councils, according to Kinnear.

Councilman Michael Cathcart has advocated for a broad discussion about appropriate speed limits on streets throughout the city, not just those near parks. Potentially, he said, the city could consider lowering the limit on residential streets while increasing limits on arterials to more accurately reflect the way people already drive on them.

Cathcart said he is not opposed to Kinnear’s proposal, but is concerned about the public’s ability to provide input, given that the City Council is holding its meetings digitally and not allowing public testimony during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I want to make sure we have some kind of a good way for folks to chime in,” Cathcart said.

Under an order from Gov. Jay Inslee, city councils are temporarily prohibited from allowing the public to attend meetings in person and barred from voting on new legislation unless directly tied to the coronavirus response.

Kinnear believes her resolution fits those parameters because schools have been shuttered to prevent the spread of COVID-19, leading many to spend more time in city parks ahead of the busy summer season.

“This is an emergency because (with) so many people staying at home, so many are wanting to use parks,” Kinnear said.

Cathcart suggested the initial resolution apply while the city remains under an emergency declaration, and then potentially be reauthorized for the two-year pilot period after the declaration is lifted.

In addition to the parks listed in Kinnear’s resolution, it would allow neighborhood councils to vote to recommend other roads and parks for a speed limit reduction to the City Council.

Under Kinnear’s proposal, the speed limit reductions would apply to the streets immediately surrounding the following: Cannon Hill Park, Audubon Park, Chief Garry Park, Comstock Park, Hays Park, Lincoln Park, Mission Park, Shadle Park and Manito Park.

The proposal also includes lower speed limits for West Cliff Drive from South Ben Garnett Way to the Tiger Trail; South High Drive from 21st to 29th avenues; High Drive Parkway from 29th to 33rd avenues; and West High Drive from 33rd Avenue to Manito Boulevard.