SPOKANE, Wash. – Wednesday afternoon will be the first time in five years a commercial car has driven over the Post Street Bridge. More importantly, it’s the first time in four years a pedestrian will walk over the bridge, a well-embraced return of an alternative to the Monroe Street Bridge.
“[The Maple and Monroe Street Bridges have] very little space for pedestrians,” Erik Lowe, founder of Spokane Reimagined said. “If you’re on a bicycle, you’re supposed to be on the street… and people are regularly going 40 miles an hour.”When it opens after Wednesday’s 11:30 ribbon cutting ceremony, the bridge will have planters dividing the one lane of northbound vehicle traffic from the pedestrian and bike paths on either side of the street.“Temporary infrastructure like [the planters] is really an exceptional use of taxpayer funds,” Lowe said. “If it doesn’t work and we need to make changes, we can make changes quickly and cheaply.”Since the Monroe and Maple Street Bridges already handle a large amount of automobile traffic, the Post Street Bridge renovation was an opportunity for the city to put an emphasis towards non-automobile traffic.“Over 50% of the bridge is dedicated towards non-vehicle traffic,” Spokane City Councilmember Zack Zappone said. “The planters and trees are really going to make a completely different feel of entering [Riverfront] Park.”
