News

Extending the Centennial Trail

Marlene Feist, Public Works Director of Strategic Development, 509.625.6505

Friday, May 1, 2020 at 3:55 p.m.

The City of Spokane wants to hear from you! The City has been working on a proposed project to complete a missing section of the Centennial Trail in the West Central neighborhood, and City leaders want to know what you think about the project and how you use the Centennial Trail.

The survey opens today and will be available until 5 p.m. on Friday, May 15.

The Centennial Trail project in West Central is intended to provide a needed link between already completed sections of the trail, connecting the trail at Boone Avenue and Summit Boulevard to the trail at Pettet Drive and West Point Road. It would replace crumbling sidewalks and curbing in the neighborhood and enhance connectivity for pedestrians and bicyclists to bus stops, parks, schools, and the West Central Community Center.

The Centennial Trail is a 60-mile paved trail passing through urban, suburban, and rural areas. Most sections of the trail. Most sections of the Trail are separated from city streets as stand-alone paved lanes, but in various locations along its route, the Trail isn’t separated but located immediately adjacent to urban streets.

In still other areas, the designated trail route hasn’t been constructed at all. In these areas, called “gaps,” the trail follows existing sidewalks and city streets through residential areas.

For these gap sections, the Centennial Trail effectively exists only on paper and through on-site signage. Summit Boulevard between Boone Avenue and Pettet Drive is one such gap location. While the Centennial Trail is clearly marked on maps as being on the alignment shown in the exhibit below, in reality, what exists is just a standard five-foot sidewalk in marginal condition with no marked bike facilities.

The project route through West Central has been mapped as part of the Centennial Trail for many years. The project has been part of community plans since 2007. It was added to City plans in 2009 when it was added to the Spokane Bicycle Plan.

The project is part of greater work to link up the City’s trail network to provide greater opportunities to use alternate modes of transportation. This trail, for example, would link to Audubon/Downriver and Emerson-Garfield neighborhood near Northwest Boulevard to the Centennial Trail along Pettet Drive.

In addition to seeking public feedback on the West Central Centennial Trail connection, the project also is being reviewed by the City’s volunteer Design Review Board. The project could move ahead as soon as this year, with construction starting late in the construction season. More information on the project is available on the City’s web site.