SPOKANE, Wash. -- Upgrades three years in the making will soon be a reality for Spokane's Coeur d'Alene Park in Browne's Addition.
The Spokane Park Board plans to approve construction designs to put in two new entrances to the park.
It is no secret Coeur d'Alene Park in Browne’s Addition has had its fair share of problems. Over the summer, KREM 2 did a story about ongoing cases of theft, vandalism and illegal drug use in the park bathrooms. When we saw plans to update the entrances, we wondered why the bathrooms were not first on the list for a revamp.
The neighborhood council said they thought the same thing initially but said the architect who developed a master plan for the park in 2015 said there needs to be something that invites people into the park in the first place. Re-doing the entrances is about making the park a place people want to come. Ultimately, city leaders think the planned changes will improve safety.
"It also has a lot to do with safety, when we see these inviting entrances into our parks, the public is invited to come in and use our parks in a positive way, it helps that negativity go elsewhere," said Planning and Development Manager Garrett Jones.
The goal is to re-do all four entrances to the park that sit in the middle of each block. Eventually they would like to re-do all four corner entrances as well. But for now, the plan is to start with the north and south entrances. The city said the two entrances will cost about $253,000.
"We just want to show that our neighborhood parks are just as important as any other park that we have and investments are important to create that ownership from a community standpoint," Jones explained.
The goal is to make the park more accessible. The city also plans to incorporate some historical features of Browne's Addition into the park's remodel by adding pavers, rock walls and signs that show the neighborhood's past and present. If all goes as planned, the two entrances are expected to be finished by Artfest in June.