Where are the beltways?

You hear little talk now a days about the belt ways in Spokane. Beltways as promised 25 years ago. I see in the paper we have hired two new neighborhood planners. I see we have more plans for the outskirts of the city. I see a great deal of housing construction all around the city. I see many of the older neighborhoods paying the price for this building expansion in terms of decreased livability with clogged arterials, choked green spaces and lax micro-improvements.

As suggested years ago, Hayford Road needs to be connected to the Seven Mile Bridge. On the Northwest side, Highway 291 needs to be connected to Highway 395. The Liberty Lake area also needs to be connected to 395. The “slow go” progress of the north-south freeway is pathetic because the second largest city in the state always comes up short. Cathy McMorris Rodgers has done a terrible job making this project happen. Had we stuck with Tom Foley, we would be driving on that freeway now.

Planners, the infrastructure needs to be in place before you permit more building. City officials, this choir is going to get way louder. Lack of planning is clogging our neighborhoods as angry motorists attempt to bypass the arterial gridlock speeding by our homes. All the while, you are making other plans.

Chris Brown

Spokane