SPOKANE, Wash. – The chain-link fencing that has lined the walls of the Brown Street viaduct since Feb. 2022 was removed Monday morning by the city of Spokane due to being ineffective.
“The feedback that we were getting from the community and the property owners and the business owners and the people who visit downtown was that it just wasn’t safe to be under there,” said Woodward.
“We’ve never had enough shelter beds, and that’s why people are on the streets downtown, that’s why they’re under bridges, that’s why they’re camping in camps—it’s because they don’t have anywhere to go,” said activist for the homeless, Maurice Smith. “The fences are not the answer. We told the city it was a bad idea and we told them that it wouldn’t work.”
Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown issued a news release on Monday regarding the decision to remove the fencing.
“We all want a clean, safe and welcoming city. My administration is committed to approaches that actually work—we need housing and treatment solutions so that clean-up and enforcement can be effective,” Brown said.
