SPOKANE — Downtown Spokane has removed 45 parking spaces underneath train viaducts, and some business owners are concerned it won’t help the already limited parking situation.
All of the business owners interviewed expressed concerns about the removal of the parking spots under the train viaducts, saying it will make life more difficult for their customers.
Staff at Domini’s Sandwiches and Kintyre Ink see their customers frequently use the parking spaces underneath the viaduct, so taking away those spots will be an issue. Nikia Tilgon, owner of Domini’s Sandwiches, expressed worry about the impact on her business.
“If they are going to take some of them away then that’s going to impact us…so I’m worried about that,” Tilgon said.
“We are quite concerned that it is going to influence the amount of people who are going to be able to come down here and park,” Tilgon added.
Natalie Doud, an artist at Kintyre Ink, is concerned about how the parking changes will affect her clients’ experiences.
“I’m concerned that our clients are going to have to take even longer breaks…getting more frustrated driving further around the city looking for parking spots…and ultimately we’ll be able to get less done in the day if that happens,” Doud said.
According to Spokane Police, the move was made with people in mind, saying that cars parked underneath the viaducts led to less visibility, creating a potentially dangerous situation for drivers and pedestrians.
Captain Kurtis Reese explained the reasoning behind the parking removal.
“With the removal of the parking spots…the idea was that we would have more light…and more of an opening feeling to it…so that it wouldn’t be so small of a walkway but more of an open area,” Reese said.
Police don’t want to create an issue for businesses, but they’re trying to find solutions to have clear walkways while having enough parking downtown.
“We are actively looking at that and taking each viaduct street by street trying to figure out if we can make some adjustments to it…its something that we have done…but we are looking at some ways to maybe adjust a little bit as we see if it does actually work and what that impact is,” Reese said.
According to officials with the police department, they are looking into various options to make the viaducts safer, like installing cameras and lights in the affected areas.
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