SPOKANE, Wash. – The ribbon cutting of the Post St. Bridge on Monday–followed by the first bus, bikes and people to use it–was a moment more than four years in the making.
Grant Shipley was one of the first people to officially bike across the bridge.
“By the time you get across, you realize, ‘man, I’m the first bicycle legally across it,'” Shipley said. “That was pretty sweet, I have to admit.”
Shipley is the chair of Spokane’s Bicycle Advisory Board, and has lived and biked in Spokane since the mid-1950s, before there was any sort of bike-specific infrastructure in town.
“To see something like this come together that’s really a huge project, that connects both the park and the Centennial Trail, with protected bike lanes, it’s really exciting,” Shipley said.
Ryan Patterson is on the Spokane Plan Commission, and used to commute on the old Post St. Bridge. She said the fact that there’s only one lane of northbound car traffic on the new bridge is a monumental moment for downtown.
“It’s a familiar feeling, but it also feels so much more open and friendly than it did before,” Patterson said. “Having such a focus on pedestrian and bicycle safety and having it be protected lanes is so important to really show an emphasis on pedestrian safety and not car-centric culture.”
After several long years of work, with a few pandemic-related bumps along the way, the ribbon cutting marked more than just the official reopening of a few thousand pounds of concrete and steel.
“In my heart, what I see this bridge representing is the unity of the people,” said Spokane Tribal Historian Warren Seyler. “The arches that you worked so hard to keep represent not just bringing two parts of the city together, but races of people together.”
It’s also a moment to reflect on how far Spokane has come, while preparing for the days and years ahead.
“We can see the ponderosa pines and we can see the beautiful park and the city all around us, and think about what we want to create for the future–both in terms of the natural ecosystem, but also what we leave for the future generations,” said Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown.
The city also used the celebration to mark the opening of the South Gorge Trail Connection, which is slated for this weekend.
