New path coming to connect Finch Arboretum with Fish Lake trail in honor of pedestrian advocate Susie Stephens

A new biking and walking link is coming to west Spokane, connecting the Finch Arboretum to the Fish Lake trail.

The trail’s name honors the late bicycling advocate Susie Stephens, who was a well-known expert in bike and pedestrian safety. Stephens, a 36-year-old Lewis and Clark High School graduate, died in 2002 when she was struck by a bus in St. Louis, where she had traveled to participate in a national conference on bicycle and pedestrian issues.

Stephens had lobbied successfully for the creation in 1998 of the Cooper Jones Act, which required drivers involved in a fatal crash with a pedestrian or cyclist to be retested to prove their safe driving ability. She also was a founding member of the Thunderhead Alliance, now the Alliance for Biking and Walking, which has a presence in all major cities in North America.

Stephens’ mother, Nancy MacKerrow, was among those present at the local ceremony Wednesday morning to mark the beginning of the 0.7-mile construction. Her donation of $100,000 in 2017 was a large piece toward the beginning of the process and was matched dollar for dollar by the city. It also was included in a 2019 master plan for the arboretum.

MacKerrow’s donation for the trail was the last of the settlement she received from the responsible party, Vandalia Bus Lines, following Stephens’ death.

MacKerrow, of Spokane, said she was pleased with Wednesday’s turnout.

“Susie would love the continued attention and fanfare,” MacKerrow said.

A short groundbreaking ceremony was held with MacKerrow, Stephens’ brother Jack Stephens and stepmother Pam Raymond taking turns with a commemorative shovel provided by the Spokane Park Board.

The trail isn’t the first commemoration of her daughter that MacKerrow has jumpstarted. The Susie Forest, a movement to plant trees that MacKerrow started in 2003, has now blossomed to hundreds of trees globally, with over 200 in Spokane alone. She says she’s worked with nonprofits like Heifer International to spread Susie trees around the world.

“There’s a tree now on every continent except Antarctica,” MacKerrow said.

The trail will travel along Garden Springs Creek next to Woodland Boulevard and eventually cross Interstate 90 over the Rosamond Avenue bridge.

Nick Hamad, Spokane’s park planning and development manager, was glad that the 8-foot-wide paved trail is beginning construction after years in the planning stage. He said the increased access for both pedestrians and cyclists is important because the neighborhood does not have consistent sidewalks.

“The ability to avoid walking through the street and explore the natural tree exhibit at the same time is a benefit, so we’re trying to provide that experience,” he said.

He gave a timeline of roughly three weeks to completion on this first 0.3-mile piece of the project, but said the full timeline to complete the connection to the Fish Lake Trail is undetermined. More information on the Finch Arboretum master plan is available on the Spokane Parks & Recreation’s planning website.