Jeff Humphrey, Media Content Coordinator, 509.625.6308
Wednesday, July 24, 2019 at 3:40 p.m.
Updated: 08/12/2019
The online survey mentioned has been closed.
Don’t stand in one place for too long in the South University District right now, or you might get bowled over by progress.
Old buildings are coming down, new ones are going up and City Planner Chris Green wants you to get involved in something called sub-area planning.
“Part of sub-area planning is kind of managing change and making sure that change is beneficial for people who live here, people who operate businesses here, people who are customers here,” Green explained.
For example, good planning requires that infrastructure like streets, water and sewer lines, and parking is in place as new projects are developed.
On the other hand, not all building restrictions are carved in stone.
“And there are things in our development regulations that we do, to allow some flexibility,” Green said.
The South U-District’s boundaries are the BNSF rail tracks to the north, Interstate 90 to the south, Division Street to the west, and the Hamilton Street Bridge to the east.
Good planning also will look at the streets people use to navigate their way through the South U-District.
For instance, planners want to know if you would prefer planting more street trees or wider sidewalks, or both.
To help fill out your South U-District wish list, Green has launched this online survey.
“We’re asking people about what they’d like to see in certain streetscapes, besides Sprague. “What type of businesses or, is this more of an industrial area or how much change do you see from that,” Green said of the survey questions.
Now, there’s an opportunity for you to share your ideas to shape the South U-District’s future.
“So the big event is on the evening of Tuesday, July 30. We’re having a community design workshop. So, we’ll have consultants in town for that as well, and that is from 5:30 to 7:30 at Pride Prep Charter School at 811 East Sprague.
Ultimately, planners will present your vision for the South U-District to the City Council for its approval.
If you’d to take the on-line survey or get more information on workshops, visit the South University District Planning Page.
