Endangered parks

Thank-you, Rich Landers, for your story, “Trails don’t happen by accident.” (Nov. 26)

Similarly, “parks don’t happen by accident.” Currently, two parks are endangered by development: Hamblen Park, sited for a 100-foot water tower, and the Central Riverfront parcel called the Bosch lot, set to become retail space with two stories of parking.

Three stories of concrete at a site purchased with federal dollars for “outdoor recreation,” at a site where the Spokanes and other tribes fished for salmon near the northeast corner of the current Monroe Street Bridge! The city says the site at the falls will be “a trailhead for the Centennial Trail.” Translated: “a trail at its marginal edge.”

If you value the heritage of our park system, designed by the Olmsteds, paid with tax revenue, expanded with land donated by the Hamblen family plus a river-edge parcel purchased with federal restrictions, then email your City Council members and the Park Board now. Ask the city to request designs for an extension of Riverfront Park at the falls, honoring history.

The updated Riverfront Park plan calls for walkability: let’s design the Bosch lot for pedestrians! The RCO in Olympia received many comments against a nine-story climbing wall at the Bosch lot – start now to block three stories of concrete at our Spokane Falls and 100 feet of concrete in Hamblen Park. Once concrete goes in, our parks are diminished, along with a walkable urban future. Contact our City Council and Parks!

Carol Ellis

Spokane