South Grand Blvd. is a major arterial with four lanes that services the Manito, Rockwood, and Comstock neighborhoods. Additionally, it provides connectivity to downtown Spokane, I-90, medical services, retail, and outdoor recreation at Manito Park.
This project focuses on the stretch between 14th Ave. and 29th Ave. It is an undivided street with two lanes in each direction. This presents two main issues:
- Multiple lanes of through traffic for pedestrians and cyclists to cross increases conflict points.
- Vehicles turning left off Grand Blvd have to remain in a travel lane to wait for a gap to safely turn left, which puts them at risk of rear-end collisions, and forces traffic to pass on the right.
Several public engagement events were hosted to determine a solution for this area.
PROJECT SOLUTION TO BE IMPLEMENTED:
A unanimous vote by the Spokane Transportation Commission calls on City Hall to reduce travel lanes on the busy South Hill street between 14th and 29th avenues from two in each direction to one in each direction with a center turn lane, which city engineers estimate will reduce crashes by up to 24% while adding 30-60 seconds of travel time during peak traffic.
The modifications would accompany pedestrian improvements, including a flashing crosswalk beacon at 27th and roughly four concrete islands in the roadway at as-yet undecided intersections. The city has also not yet decided how to handle merging where Grand’s lanes are reduced south of 14th and north of 29th.
The remaining lanes will be widened from 10 feet to 11 feet. No new bike lanes are planned.
Review project updates on the City of Spokane Website: https://my.spokanecity.org/projects/grand-blvd-restriping-from-14th-ave-to-29th-ave/