Spokane awarded $9.2 million federal grant to overhaul pedestrian safety, install new bike lanes

The city has been awarded a $9.2 million federal grant that aims to make Spokane streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.

In addition to the federal funds originating from 2021’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the city will provide $2.4 million of its own money. The projects focus on downtown Spokane and surrounding neighborhoods.

“Spokane continues to diversify its transportation needs and we want people to be safe when they are walking and biking in our City,” Public Works Director Marlene Feist said in a statement.

Though specific projects have not been chosen, improvements funded by the grant include:

• $3.8 million for new and updated bike lanes, removal or reduction of travel lanes, green intersection markings and bus stop bypasses.
• $5.64 million for improved intersections with accessible signals, curb extensions, high-visibility crosswalk markings and ADA-accessible ramps.

$2 million to make pathways, st

• airways and sidewalks more accessible.

An additional $560,000 will be spent on planning these improvements. The list of projects is expected to be complete by the fall of 2024, according to a city press release. A two-year construction window begins in late 2025.

Areas where projects are expected to occur include downtown and the Logan, East Central and West Central neighborhoods, along with “others that are close in proximity to the City’s core,” according to the city.

“We are thrilled to learn we will be receiving these funds that will help improve community safety when traveling throughout our City,” Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward said in a statement.

The plan submitted to the federal government is based on Spokane’s Vision Zero Action Plan. Released earlier this year, the plan outlines how the city hopes to reach zero traffic deaths and serious injuries in Spokane by the 2040s.

According to that report, 85% of fatal and serious crashes in Spokane occur on the city’s main arterials targeted by these grant funds. A disproportionate number of serious and fatal crashes occur in the downtown area. While 17.2% of these crashes occur downtown, the area’s 1.66 square miles account for only 2.4% of land within the city, according to the action plan.

“You’re going to have more of a walking population in your downtown core just in general, and a lot of our bike paths incorporate the downtown arterials,” city spokesperson Kirstin Davis said. “It makes sense that there would be a higher incidence rate in those areas.”

According to the city, the improvements will be “focused on areas with more vulnerable populations, where underserved populations and residents experiencing homelessness are concentrated.”

The $9.2 million grant is one of 25 Department of Transportation grants totaling $38.3 million aimed at pedestrian and cyclist safety in Washington .