SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane City Council voted unanimously Monday night to vacate a portion of Upriver Drive near Avista's headquarters, permanently closing roughly a third-mile portion of the road to allow the construction of a new waterfront park.
Avista proposed the park, which will have seasonal water access for canoes and kayaks, and the company will fully finance and maintain it.
The vote was 6-0, with Council Member Mike Fagan absent from Monday's meeting.
Upriver will be vacated between Mission Avenue and N. Center Street, with traffic routed to the north of Avista's campus.
Photos: Roads before and after proposed park
There's currently no firm timeline for clearing and construction to begin, but it will likely not start until at least the spring of 2020.
The council's decision followed roughly an hour of testimony from neighbors who will be affected by the proposal, most of them in opposition.
Nearly every one of the more than a dozen commenters focused their testimony on public safety, with multiple people making both the case that the plan would improve safety and that it would harm it.
The opposition was led by residents of the Riverview Retirement Community, who fear the road closure will worsen traffic and especially make it harder for emergency vehicles to get there in time.
"I am shocked and appalled at the audacity of this proposal," said one Riverview member. "Access and egress will certainly be reduced. It will not be the same. It will not be better. It will be reduced."
But those in favor of the park argued it will not only provide a nice community asset on the Spokane River, but in fact in some ways make the area safer.
"I am a runner and so I use the Centennial Trail almost every day, and that stretch of the trail is just awful for runners because it's so narrow," said one commenter. "Especially in the winter when they plow the snow off, we're basically having to run in the road just because that shoulder disappears. So I love having that safer connection to the rest of the centennial trail."
Some argued the current traffic situation, especially at the intersection of Upriver and Mission, is dangerous as it is, and that changing traffic flows could actually be for the best.
"This section of Upriver can be really scary whether you're walking, biking, or driving," said one woman during the hearing.
When council members discussed their decision, many said they want Avista to work more closely going forward with first responders, to make sure the changes won't cause harm.
But, despite the concerns raised in the room, some members pointed out that neighborhood councils in the affected area have already indicated support for the park, and gave that stance a lot of weight.
Avista representatives said they met with and got approval from the Logan and Chief Garry Park neighborhood councils. They did not meet with the Minnehaha council, which in fact later condemned the decision in a Facebook post.