Bernard Street Reconstruction: Most Street Trees to be Removed; no Pedestrian Improvements or Traffic Calming Contemplated; Comprehensive Plan policy ignored; Spokane Municipal Code & Revised Code of Washington Violated
Summary:
Bernard Street from 14th to 29th Avenue is scheduled to be rebuilt, starting June 19, 2006. The City's Engineering Department has proposes to remove 24 street trees in this corridor as part of the project, only replacing trees on side streets and on private property Additionally, no improvements that are commonly discussed in the Comprehensive Plan and at neighborhood council meetings such as pedestrian safety, traffic calming or street tree planting are presently included in the scope of the project.

Discussion:
City of Spokane voters approved a Street Bond Proposition on November 2, 2004. Projects to be funded by this bond were predetermined and included the reconstruction of Bernard Street between 14th and 29th Avenues. This project is scheduled to begin June 19, 2006. A press release issued by the Mayor's office on March 3, 2006, includes the statement: "The City will not reduce the width of the street because of the impact on the City’s entire arterial street system," What this means that the City wants to preserve its option to convert Bernard to a four lane street in the future, should the traffic count rise to a level the city Engineering department determines will necessitate a four lane arterial. This, in spite of the status of Bernard in the Spokane Regional Transportation Council's 20-year Metropolitian Transportation Plan, (warning: 289 page document, large download, not for the casual reader or faint of heart) which categorizes Bernard as a two lane street that is not eligible for "automobile capacity enhancements" (i.e. additional lanes). SRTC's determination may be in part due to the fact that traffic counts on Bernard have remained flat for 25 years.

When the city expresses concern about its "entire arterial street system" one has to look beyond Bernard to other arterials in our neighborhood. What you will observe is that Bernard, Lincoln, Cedar, Hatch (south of 43rd) and High Drive are all wide enough to become candidates for conversion to four lane streets. Contrary to the intent of the Growth Management Act to limit sprawl, it appears the city is determined to provide the means for sprawl to accelerate. The result is a city policy that taxes city residents (via the 2004 Street Bond, paid for with a property tax levy) to compromise our existing neighborhoods for the benefit of developers who build outside the city's boundaries.

The decision to remove all street trees and include no pedestrian improvements or traffic calming as part of this reconstruction is contrary over 20 policies contained in the City's Comprehensive Plan. It is also in violation of the Spokane Municipal Code, Section 17B.010.010 and the State's Growth Management Act, RCW 36.70A.120.

Here is one of the most relevant comprehensive plan passages relating to the reconstruction of Bernard and other city streets:

18.2 EXISTING AND PROPOSED TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

Existing Versus Proposed Transportation Systems

First, this plan establishes a new priority for considering the transportation needs of people and making transportation decisions. Policy TR 1.1 establishes that it will be city policy to put pedestrians first, then to consider the needs of those who use transit and non-motorized transportation modes, and finally to consider the needs of automobile users. The city’s current transportation system does not reflect this priority and direction. Spokane’s existing transportation system reflects Spokane’s existing auto-dependent nature. Indeed, it is partly because of the existing nature of Spokane’s built environment that Spokane is autodependent and lacking viable transportation options and, as a consequence, that citizens established this new direction. Following this new direction with its clear transportation priorities, however, will lead to new transportation systems that reflect the city’s new transportation goals. Establishing these new transportation systems for Spokane will take time. It will take careful and steady implementation of the plan, as expressed in its goals, policies, and implementation methods (such as the new street standards). But with consistent implementation of the plan on a case by case basis, the community’s built environment will change and with it, the opportunity for Spokane to achieve its desired future.

Other relevant documents include the "Vegetation Management Plan" found at: http://www.spokaneparks.org/hotissuesagendasreports/Vegetation%20Management%20Plan.pdf and "The Arboricultural Specifications and Standards of Practice for the City of Spokane" found at: http://www.spokaneparks.org/hotissuesagendasreports/Arboricultural%20Specifications%20August%202002.pdf. Relevant passages from this document include (from page 18):
"A. Street Trees

The street tree ordinance states, "The city council and park board recognize that the design of the urban environment must ultimately be for the benefit of the quality of life of the human inhabitants, and that a healthy urban forest is a key component of the quality of life." A focus of the urban forestry program is to advocate for the establishment and retention of adequate planting spaces while considering the community desire for  urban aesthetics. Large trees with overhanging canopies of branches are especially desirable. Streets with a cathedral of trees overhead provide many benefits; they provide a traffic calming effect, extend the life of roads, provide a separation between streets and sidewalks, reduce pollution, noise, erosion and wind and cool our community. Pedestrian buffer strips, or planting strips, vary greatly in size. Street trees with large canopies require space to grow in order to provide full, long-term benefits to the community. The Olmsted Brothers in the report to the Board of Park Commissioners in 1909 state, "In Spokane some progress has already been made in the matter of reducing the width of roadways and increasing the width of parking strips in existing streets, but much that is desirable remains to be accomplished.- The statement is more applicable now than ever. Wide planting strips are important, if we want large street trees to reach maturity without damaging sidewalks, curbs and streets. Street system design should provide sufficient space to accommodate large trees."


The sidewalk here at 23nd & Bernard has already been rebuilt to accommodate the four large sycamores in the planting strip. This work was done in 1999 by the property owner, who was required by the city to repair the sidewalk - at a cost of approximately $5000. Nevertheless, these trees, appraised in the city's street tree inventory as collectively worth $64,000, are slated for removal. Narrowing the street by as little as two feet could preserve these trees and the value they add to the adjoining property.

Repaired Sidewalk on Bernard  A street tree between 20th & Shoshone on Bernard.Street Tree on Bernard


More from the Comprehensive Plan:

The Pedestrian System
As noted previously, one of the most significant features of this transportation element is its focus on making walking a viable transportation option in Spokane—to make it as easy to walk within the city as it is to drive. The primary means within the city of providing for pedestrian access is the city’s sidewalk system. The sidewalk system is supplemented by other pedestrian facilities, such as the shared facilities described earlier and the city staircases that both link neighborhoods and provide access within neighborhoods Examples include the staircases that link Peaceful Valley and Browne’s Addition and the staircase at 19th and Perry.

Map TR 1 (“Proposed Regional Pedestrian Network”) indicates those pedestrian facilities that are the subject of this plan: sidewalks along arterials and the four main shared-use pathways described above(three existing and one proposed). Policy TR 2.7, “Safe Sidewalks,” states that the city should “provide for safe pedestrian circulation within the city; in most cases, this should be in the form of sidewalks with a separated curb and sidewalk.” The planning level of this plan focuses on sidewalks along arterials, with the 20-year transportation capital facilities program providing cost estimates for establishing sidewalks along both sides of all city arterials.

A separated curb and sidewalk is a key feature of sidewalk design. As stated in policy TR 2.7, it is the preferred sidewalk design. Due to the many crucial benefits a separation between the curb and sidewalk provides, this plan uses a new term for the physical separation: “pedestrian buffer strip” (PBS). The PBS term replaces the terms “planting strip” and “parking strip” used in earlier plans. The discussion section of TR 2.7 describes the value of a pedestrian buffer strip, its purpose and function, and notes they can be landscaped with a variety of treatments. Policy TR 7.4 “Pedestrian Buffer Strips” elaborates on this important point regarding PBS design, stating “develop pedestrian buffer strips in a way that is appropriate to the surrounding area and desired outcomes.” Volume 1 of the plan includes background as to the importance of providing well-designed sidewalks to enable safe pedestrian travel within the city. An important point is that walking is not only a transportation mode but part of the dynamic of city living that contributes to healthy urban places. The following excerpt discusses of how pedestrian activity and the design of pedestrian facilities has changed over time in Spokane in order to provide a context for viewing Spokane’s desired pedestrian future.
Spokane: For Pedestrians, Past as Prologue?
As a "settlement," the community's informal roads and paths accommodated all modes of travel -- the connections were designed for commerce and little else. They were, however, places of great personal interaction. As we became a "city," formality of streets accompanied the growing need to establish physical order—sidewalks surfaced as part of orderliness. With the City Beautiful movement that helped transform early Spokane, city fathers insisted on street trees and planting strips. The city's maturity also fostered "social order" and sidewalks became a venue to experience this emerging social culture. Other examples of the street setting fostering socialization include large front porches and inviting front yard landscapes. With post-war suburbanization and the push for home ownership, Spokane’s street environment changes to embrace the automobile, and the human and cultural experience followed the new design. Infrastructure was not always complete in new subdivisions—many lacked sidewalks altogether. Where sidewalks were developed, they most often lacked the traditional planting strip, and in effect became large curbs, rather than places for people to safely walk. Increasing reliance on the car made sidewalks, front porches, street trees, and formal front yards of little consequence. In Spokane’s post-war era, local development economies and subdivision design placed a low priority on pedestrians. The result, like with many cities across the country, is a built environment that is designed more for cars than people.
Spokane’s history has set the stage for its future. This plan establishes a redirection for pedestrian planning by making it a priority. This is done not out of a sense of a nostalgia for days gone by but as part of Spokane’s comprehensive effort to create its desired future.

I Love Street Trees  

Click here to see the Cliff-Cannon Neighborhood Council resolution on this topic.
 Click here to see a new and improved resolution for your Neighborhood Council's consideration.
Click here to see a legal analysis based on the Comprehensive Plan and Spokane Municipal Code.
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