Sta Plaza: It’s A People Place Critics Still Carp About Cost, But Bus Riders Say They Like It

The Spokane Transit Authority Plaza was attacked during planning and construction as a $20.7 million extravagance of fancy tile, potted ficus and ostentatious architecture in the heart of downtown.

Two years after it opened, critics still complain the transit center was too expensive.

But bus riders say they like the place, and STA officials credit the plaza for contributing to an increase in ridership that likely will hit a 17-year high by the end of the year.

“I like the building,” said Harvey Henson, a 65-year-old retired Kaiser Aluminum steel worker who passes through the plaza several times a week while riding the buses.

“If you don’t feel like catching a bus, you can sit in here and relax and catch the next one. Sometimes they have music.”

The reaction from neighboring business owners is more mixed. Some praise the transit center for bringing more people downtown, while others say it’s driving customers away.

The plaza, located along Wall Street and Riverside and Sprague avenues, provides a comfortable place for people getting on and off the bus downtown, or transferring to a different route.

It also allowed STA to reorganize its schedules so buses pick up and drop off riders from one central location, rather than from bus stops throughout downtown.

“It’s really a place for people… a living room for Spokane,” architect Ron Tan said when the station opened. Tan’s firm designed the building.

Bus rider Elmer Prince likes what he sees at the plaza. He sat outside the building one recent morning trying to decide where to have breakfast, Burger King or Frankie Doodle’s.

“I particularly like the waterfall,” he said. “The way that rock looks. I don’t know if it’s fiberglass or what, but they did a good job.”

Since the plaza opened in July 1995, bus ridership has increased at a faster rate than in the previous five years. STA officials say ridership this year could reach 8.2 million.

For the past two years, the STA has examined how many people enter the building, mill about on the sidewalks and get on and off of buses.

With the exception of skywalk traffic, the counts show an overall increase in activity at the plaza. Since one person could get counted several times under the survey, its value is in showing activity rather than the number of people who use the place.

In 1995, an average of 10,800 people daily entered the building through the ground floor and skywalks. In 1996, that increased to 11,700, or 8.3 percent.

The number of people getting on and off buses during the same period increased 5.6 percent, from 15,140 in 1995 to 15,992.

Before the plaza was built, an STA study anticipated roughly 16,000 people would get on and off buses downtown.

Businesses leasing space inside the transit center are benefiting from the growing ridership.

Burger King’s second-floor corner slot in the plaza has gotten more business than expected, said restaurant manager Chris Skarisky.

His one complaint is that STA won’t allow Burger King and other businesses to advertise on the first floor, where most of the foot traffic is.

“It’s amazing how many people don’t know we are here,” he said.

Goody Bag owner Jeanne Quinn also wishes more people would find their way upstairs. Quinn and her husband, Jerry, opened the second-floor candy store in October 1995.

Business has been a little slower than expected, but has grown 3 to 4 percent since opening, Jeanne Quinn said.

The couple plans to stick with the plaza. “What I’ve learned is it takes a good three years for people to know where you are,” Quinn said.

Business isn’t so good on the west side of the block the plaza occupies, where the owner of Dave’s Shoe Service has seen his business decline 10 percent since the center opened.

“I’m very disappointed in what it has done to the area so far,” said Dave Ressa. “I believe it has chased business away.”

The plaza isn’t the only problem. The loss of businesses from River Park Square and a lack of parking also are hurting downtown, said Ressa, whose store has been on Post for 12 years.

Some of Ressa’s customers have made it clear they don’t like passing through the crowds of people waiting for buses on Riverside and Sprague to get to his store, he said.

He’s considered moving, but higher rents and the possibility of the Davenport Hotel renovation and other development projects keep him put.

Business is down slightly at the neighboring Nobels office supply store as well, but manager Dennis Ryan doesn’t know if it’s because of the plaza.

Customers have told Ryan they avoid walking by the plaza to get to his store.

Ryan is frustrated by the personal habits of some bus riders. “I’ve never seen so many people spitting on the sidewalk,” he said.

Beltone Hearing Aid Center manager Marion Mather has similar complaints. Waiting bus passengers provide an obstacle course for clients to the store, she said.

When the plaza first opened, STA security guards were good about keeping passengers from sitting in front of, or leaning against, Beltone’s storefront.

Not any more, she said.

STA workers also used to wipe clean window smudges left daily by people waiting for the bus and take better care of the sidewalk. Now, she said, “I don’t think it’s one of their priorities.”

But not all nearby business owners are dissatisfied.

At Domini Sandwiches on Sprague, owner Al Domini can’t praise the plaza enough.

“It’s a beautiful building, a great asset to downtown. It brings people downtown,” Domini said.

His only complaint - if you could even call it that - is that bus passengers don’t spend more money downtown.

“I don’t think this is the right place for it, but I really don’t have any major complaints,” said Laith Elaimy, owner of Niko’s II restaurant at Riverside and Post.

“The STA has been cooperative. If there have been any problems (they) are taken care of right away,” he said.

During business hours, the plaza has two to three STA security guards and one contract Spokane Police Department officer on duty, said Dave Voller, STA safety and loss control manager.

In 1996, guards and police made 77 arrests in the plaza for trespassing, the most common criminal offense committed on building grounds, security records show.

The next most common offense was disorderly conduct, with 55 arrests, followed by other assaults, with 21 arrests. Other assaults are everything from pushing to unwanted grabbing, Voller said.

Drunkenness - 16 arrests - and drug abuse - 14 arrests - were the other most common crimes committed in or around the plaza.

Architect Tan is pleased with the way the building is being used. He visits the plaza at least twice a week, walking from his nearby office.

“Critics say it attracts the wrong kind of people,” Tan said. “To that I say, ‘What is the right kind of people?”’

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo; Graphic: STA ridership