SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga Prep is pushing the city to permanently close an alley near the campus that school officials call their biggest safety threat to students.
During a public meeting on Monday, City staff formally introduced a request to vacate the alley that runs along the west side of Gonzaga Prep’s campus between Euclid and Cleveland Avenue. The school wants to install gates at both ends to keep the pathway closed off.
The alley has become a hotspot for criminal activity, with graffiti covering walls and fences, drug paraphernalia, empty liquor bottles, broken glass and waste scattered throughout the pathway.
“Gonzaga Prep has experienced a lot of criminal activity in that alley, so they would actually like to vacate it,” said Eldon Brown from the Spokane Development Services Center.
The school has partnered with neighboring businesses to support the closure request. Brown said the adjoining businesses are backing the proposal because they have also experienced criminal problems in the area.
“The adjoining businesses appear to be all for it,” Brown said.
However, there is disagreement over the source of the problems. Most businesses point to Family Haven Apartments, Catholic Charities’ transitional housing facility at the south end of the alley. Catholic Charities supports closing the alley but says these issues existed before they built their facility.
When asked about alternative solutions to completely shutting down the alley, city officials said they have explored other options without success.
“So far, we haven’t come up with any good ones at this point in time,” Brown said.
Gonzaga prep says police have told the school that closing the alley is likely the only effective solution. Currently, officers cannot remove people for trespassing because the alley is public property. However, if the street is vacated and becomes private property, police would have the authority to remove trespassers.
The proposal will now move through city channels, where staff and neighboring property owners will determine who pays for closure costs and utility relocation expenses.
The process is expected to take several months before any gates might installed.
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