Public Spaces

Purple flowers bloom in the Lilac City

Submitted by Camille Troxel on Wednesday, May 15th, 3:01 pm

Park staff estimate the blooms in the Manito Park Lilac Garden will be at their best on May 20th. The purple and pink flowers are ready just in time for the Lilac Festival and to usher in spring in the Lilac City.

Surprisingly, lilac bushes are not native to Spokane. They were first planted here by J.J. Browne in 1906 at West 2226 Second Ave. in the now popular Browne's Addition. By 1912, 128 lilac bushes had been brought over from Rochester, NY to start the Manito Park Lilac Garden.

It was the in the early 1930s that Spokane became known as the “Lilac City” when three men, Dr. S.E. Lambert, W.T. Triplett and John W. Duncan, encouraged the garden club to plant the bushes around town. In 1938 Spokane was celebrating with the Lilac Festival.

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Spokane Parks & Rec offers lifeguard training

Submitted by Camille Troxel on Tuesday, May 14th, 5:12 pm

If you're a strong swimmer on the hunt for a summer job, Spokane Parks and Recreation has the perfect spot for you. Spokane has two aquatics training programs to train life guards and water safety instructors.

The Lifeguard Training Course runs May 18th-19th and May 20th-24th and will train on CPR_PR, First Aid and Life guarding. The course if for ages 15 and older and costs $175.

Water Safety Instructor courses will run for four Saturdays, June 8th-29th. You will learn how ti teach all ages water safety courses, survival and American Red Cross swimming skills. There is a text book required and the course costs $200.

Both training programs require that you pass a pre-course test to enroll. Lifeguard training will be at Witter Aquatic Center and Water Safety Instructor courses will happen at Liberty Aquatic Center. For more information or to register visit spokaneparks.org

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Park Board Considers Land Purchase and Trail Extension

Submitted by Camille Troxel on Thursday, April 4th, 5:17 pm

The Land Committee of the Spokane Park Board considered a proposal to purchase land that would extend the Centennial Trail at a meeting on Wednesday April 3rd. The land to be purchased is currently part of the Kendall Yards property. The total land is 3.5 acres but .85 acres of that will be donated by Kendall Yards.

The city was given a grant from the Washington Public Works Board for the amount of $1.97 million in order to make the purchase. Kendall Yards has agreed to sell the land for that price even though independent appraisers for both the city and developer determined the value of the land to be around $3.9 million. As part of the purchase agreement Kendall Yards will construct the trail extension and hope to have it completed as early as this summer. The revenue of the sale will be used to fund the extension project.

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State parks launch app to mark centennial

Submitted by Jacob Palmer on Tuesday, March 19th, 10:22 am

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission sure is tech-savvy for a 100-year-old.

The commission announced today that it is launching the Pocket Ranger Smartphone App that is available for both iPhone and Android devices. The app includes guides, information and amenities on more than 100 state parks.

From the commission:

The Commission invites the public to celebrate 100 years of state parks in Washington by using this new App to plan park trips. Centennial 2013 events and activities will be available in parks all over the state throughout 2013. Signature Centennial 2013 events are planned at Riverside State Park June 8 and at Deception Pass State Park August 3. Visit www.parks.wa.gov/events/ <http://www.parks.wa.gov/events/> for details.

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You can now report Spokane potholes online

Submitted by Joseph Suttner, Producer

Friday, February 22nd, 2013, 2:18pm

You can now report Spokane potholes online

See a pothole and want to get it fixed? There's an app for that.

Today Spokane Mayor David Condon accounced the launch of a new online service to report pothles.

The website based service can be accessed on laptop and desktop computers, smart phones and tablets by clicking here.

“We want to make it easy for citizens to interact with us on issues both big and small,” Mayor Condon said. “This is part of a much larger effort to improve customer service and enhance communication with citizens.”

According to the City, all you have to do is enter information about the size and location of the pothole. You can also “pin” the location on a map and send a photo.

The reported information will go directly to the City’s Street Department to be scheduled for repair.

You can still always call in to report a pothole through the Streets Department at (509) 625-7733.

The city says crews prioritize pothole repairs based on size and location, with the largest potholes on the busiest streets being repaired first. Crews fill potholes all year long.

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Time to submit sidewalk requests in Emerson-Garfield neighborhood

Submitted by Jacob Palmer on Tuesday, February 19th, 12:19 pm

The Emerson-Garfield neighborhood council wants to know which sidewalks its citizens want fixed.

“Each year our neighborhood council works with the City to determine which sidewalks need work, and which ones get priority,” a news release read.

Above is a sidewalk map of the neighborhood, the red lines show where sidewalks are missing.

If you would like your input heard, submit a request to Community Development Officer Sara Kimball via email (kimballs09@gmail.com) or by phone at (509) 863-3376. Requests must be turned in by March 1.

“All requests will be examined and included in a priority list provided to the City of Spokane,” the news release said. “Engineers from the city will then use the list to determine this year's projects to be completed late summer or early fall.”

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Study looks at the future of the Latah Bridge

Submitted by Joseph Suttner, Producer

Friday, February 1st, 2013, 12:36pm

Study looks at the future of the Latah Bridge

City of Spokane engineers are considering several different options in rehabilitating the Latah Bridge in west Spokane.

The bridge has been around for almost 100 years, connecting downtown Spokane to the West Plains. The bridge is starting to age and safety is a concern. The outer lanes of the bridge had to be removed, reducing the bridge from a four lane road to a two lane road for structural safety.

A traffic study was completed on the bridge, and engineers have come up with five different ways they could rehabilitate the bridge, costing anywhere from $15 to $27 million dollars total.

That study recommended that The City of Spokane should consider a long-term solution (40+ years), rather than a short term solution for the bridge.

The study also recommended long-term options should provide for bridge deck widening sufficient to accommodate more vehicle traffic, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit and freight demands.

Due to uncertainty in obtaining Federal funding to complete the project, a timetable for starting the project is uncertain.

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