Getting There: City still weighing two-way vs. one-way, lane reductions on Spokane Falls Boulevard through downtown

Spokane leaders are still debating what to do with Spokane Falls Boulevard, an issue complicated by an almost evenly split public survey last fall.

Should the one-way, westbound street be converted into a two-way between Washington and Division streets to slow traffic and improve access to the Spokane Convention Center and First Interstate Center for the Arts? Should the rest of Spokane Falls Boulevard stretching west past Riverfront Park and City Hall have its three lanes be reduced to two or even one to create more space for bike lanes or parking?

Whatever options city leaders decide to take, transportation officials are determined to make the corridor more friendly to pedestrians and cyclists. They have time to decide, given construction is not scheduled to take place before 2028.

Spokane Falls Boulevard is one of the city’s oldest roads, and while it’s had a few makeovers over the years, there still are wastewater pipes under the pavement that were placed in the 1890s when the then-dirt road was called Front Avenue. Modernizing that and other underground infrastructure necessitates some intensive rehab work on the street itself, and city planners want to take the opportunity to consider radical changes to the street’s design.

Planners have effectively split the proposed changes in two, with Washington Street as the dividing line.

West of Washington, Spokane Falls is getting a protected bike lane, though the city is weighing several options for what to do with the rest of the street. Alternatives range from keeping all three lanes but narrowing them to make room for that bike lane, reducing vehicle lanes to two for either additional street-side parking or two-way protected bike lanes, or making just a single westbound lane.

The city is considering converting a section of the road east of Washington into a two-way street, potentially all the way to Division. The street east of Division is already two-way; converting the road west of Washington was deemed too complicated due to its narrowness and connectivity to other longstanding features, such as the on-ramp to the downtown River Park Square mall parking garage.

Local residents appear mixed on the idea. In a survey last year of 1,200 residents, roughly 47% either disagreed or strongly disagreed with a two-way conversion, while nearly 40% agreed or strongly agreed.

Major businesses and economic drivers in the area, such as the Davenport Grand, Public Facilities District and others have also raised concerns about potential impacts downtown, warned Betsy Cowles, chairman of the Cowles Company, at a recent City Council meeting.

The Cowles Company owns River Park Square as well as The Spokesman-Review.

While no decision has been made, Jon Snyder, the city’s transportation director, said the tides are changing for one-way streets meant to quickly move vehicle traffic through downtown. He argues the area should be more walkable and Spokane Falls Boulevard easier to cross. A two-way street slowing traffic could be part of that puzzle.

“There’s a different kind of thinking now about how to make our streets work best for us, and I think folks are realizing one-ways are not always best,” Snyder said. “We have two of the city’s biggest investments: the convention center area and the U-District, kind of walled off with one-way streets. … The convention center is basically the tourist hub of Eastern Washington, and we force visitors to be on a series of one-way streets.”

Whether the street is turned into a two-way between Washington and Division, between Bernard and Browne streets, or not at all, Snyder says there will be changes to the Browne intersection. Southbound traffic coming off the Division Street bridge curves to the west onto Spokane Falls and can currently continue straight onto Spokane Falls. Under every scenario being considered a reconfigured intersection of Spokane Falls and Browne will force traffic that had been southbound on the bridge to turn right to continue on Spokane Falls beyond Browne.

“Right now, I think it’s a bit of an intimidating and confusing mess for people walking,” Snyder said. “Improving that intersection is one of the most exciting things about the Spokane Falls Boulevard project.”

Final decisions on which alternatives to take on both sides of Washington will be made sometime in 2026, Snyder said.