City plans to reconfigure roads on Spokane’s South Hill to enhance student safety

SPOKANE, Wash. — Parents on Spokane’s South Hill are concerned for their kids’ safety after two Sacajawea Middle School students were hit by a car on their way to school on Wednesday.

The City of Spokane said it plans to reconfigure Grand Boulevard to make it safer for students who commute, but drivers fear that will create long traffic delays.

“There are kids on those intersections pretty much every day of the week, and we need to make sure that they’re able to get to school and back safely,” said Spokane’s director of transportation Jon Snyder. “One of the big parts of this is we’re changing the configuration of the roadway.”

Part of the city’s plan includes reducing the lanes down from two lanes to one in each direction. The city says this will help traffic slow down and make it easier for kids to cross.

“We need a community effort to be safe, and cars just keep getting bigger and heavier and it’s hard to see kids in a lot of those big vehicles,” Snyder said.

The city also plans on adding rapid flash beacons on Grand Boulevard south of 29th Avenue and at 33rd Avenue so people would be alerted if someone is crossing.

“No matter how much of a rush you’re in, it’s not worth 30 seconds to put a kid in the hospital, which is what happened,” said Snyder. “We want people to slow down, be aware of their surroundings and we’re going to make changes to the roadway that make that easier.”

Parents seem on board with this plan, saying the road needs some kind of change because the visibility is bad.

“That way more kids are safe because there’s so many schools and parks and so many kids and families are crossing. It’s just not safe for families,” said Shiloh Selle, the mother of a 5-year-old.

The city says the project is expected to start next year in the late summer to early fall and be done before winter break.

Once construction begins, traffic will be reduced to one lane, affecting many people who commute in the area.