SPOKANE, Wash. — It's a bustling afternoon on the South Hill's 29th Avenue, with traffic zipping by and parking lots of the Lincoln Heights shopping center full.
There are those who have been wishing for change here, however. And they may not have long to wait.
On Monday night, the Spokane City Council passed an emergency ordinance that will help turn a section of 29th Avenue into a more pedestrian-friendly street. The ordinance prevents new drive-through businesses, but doesn't impact the ones that already exist.
The area in question is primarily between Martin and Fiske.
"There's a lot of traffic in the area, there's a lot of congestion, there's not a lot of crosswalks or accessible sidewalks," said council member Paul Dillon.
Dillon helped champion the proposal, though he says much of the advocacy came from the neighborhood.
"This is something the neighbors have actually been asking for since the 1990s," he said.
The designation will come with infrastructure improvements (though no set funding) to increase walkability through sidewalk, curb, and crosswalk changes.
The idea has generated a lot of talk, however, because of the other change tied to such a designation: drive-throughs are not allowed on pedestrian streets.
The change comes as Chick-Fil-A looks, for the second time, to get approval to build a new location on a vacant lot on 29th and Regal.
Some property owners in the area have voiced concern the change will negatively impact business development in the area.
"As much as we'd all like to walk more, drive up windows are a convenience that benefits both the local business and the consumer," Jeff Johnson, who owns an office building on 29th, said during a January 10 plan commission meeting.
Chris Bell, who is tied to the plan for the new Chick-Fil-A, also spoke at the same meeting, accusing the city of using regulatory measures to target the franchise.
"The amount of traffic designed for 29th Avenue is to increase, not decrease. so all the testimony you've heard from people who aren't able to walk on 29th, nothing you do to prohibit drive-throughs is going to do any calming," Bell said.
Dillon rejects the claim this is about any one business. He says it's about decreasing congestion and improving safety. Dillon hopes the changes will be noticeable though, with how the long-term future of Lincoln Heights takes shape.
"So when you look at some of these empty lots and spaces, those could be better utilized for mixed-use where you have businesses on the first floor and residential on top," he said.
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