SPOKANE, Wash. — Last spring, the city of Spokane was doing construction for a big sewer tank in the Peaceful Valley neighborhood.
During this project, the city also worked on improving parking options and access to the Spokane River for water recreation.
In the summer months, multiple local rafting companies and the general public used a makeshift boat launch near West Water Avenue and Ash Street to access the river.
Now, they can use the new boat launch installed by the city at Glover Park.
There were a few downsides to the original site, the main problem being traffic congestion.
Josh Flanagan with Wiley E. Waters whitewater rafting said it was always a bit tricky getting boats, trailers and trucks in and out of the dead end road.
"The are has always been congested at times with really bad traffic concerns," Flanagan said. "So this will give the public one good spot to get their boats ready instead of the street or someone's yard is going to be nice."
Flanagan said now that the city has installed a new boat launch up stream at Glover Park congestion may be less of a concern. That's because of the new parking lot and roundabout next to Recovery cafe.
Looking around at the boat launch today he said it's a great improvement to safely accessing the river.
"We're definitely excited about having this access point and being able to additional access to the river," Flanagan said.
He still has concerns with how steep the ramp is and if low water levels will still reach it. But overall, he's excited for his team to hit the water in early May.