City planners aim to revamp Spokane’s Division Street once North-South Freeway complete

SPOKANE, Wash. — One of Spokane’s busiest streets could look very different in the next five years.

The eventual opening of the North-South Freeway is expected to significantly alleviate traffic congestion on Division Street.

With that in mind, city planners are discussing how to reinvent the Division Street corridor and prevent businesses and people from leaving it.

The city said the new potential plans could include a number of different things such as more sidewalks, bus hubs and bike and transit lanes.

“Tens of thousands of people live within a few blocks of the corridor, and tens of thousands of cars are there every day,” said Karl Otterstrom, Interim Co-CEO and Chief Planning and Development Officer at Spokane Transit Authority (STA).

Otterstrom said There are a lot of possibilities for the corridor’s future.

“There’s an opportunity to think about how do we help the people who live in this corridor get around better? How do we make it more attractive to live in the corridor and to do business in the corridor,” he said.

Spokane already has a BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) that runs from Browne’s Addition to University District. The reinvented corridor would have it’s own BRT system.

“It’s about people having the freedom to move around our community easily, effectively and in the least amount of time that they need. So, making it faster for the buses, make it more frequent for the buses to travel through the corridor, and more reliable, but also adding more destinations for people who live and work there,” said Otterstrom.

Changing the area, however, will take significant effort. The land zoning along the street complicates things.

Planners are working on the best way to repurpose zoning to encourage development and investment in the area.

The City of Spokane will continue to research zoning, community impact and other related factors and expects to present a finalized version of their plan by the end of 2025.