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Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown signs updated 'Complete Street' ordinance into law Wednesday The updated ordinance also aims to save money on future improvements by incorporating walking and biking infrastructure into existing and upcoming street projects.

Delighted to read this news from my former hometown. Way to go, Spokane! Thanks, @lisaforprogress.bsky.social, Jon Snyder, Kitty Klitzke, Paul Dillon. Proud to know leaders doing this work to make streets work better for everyone.
www.krem.com/article/news...
#CompleteStreets #RoadSafety

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AAA estimates the average cost of owning a car is $12,297 a year, and recommends drivers spend no more than 10 percent of their income on car costs. This means you should make 120K to afford the average cost. Median *household* income in the US is $77K. The math just doesn't work.

Zivarts: How 'Week Without Driving' Is Having An Impact — Streetsblog USA Needing to drive in a car-dependent society is not some sort of moral failure. A one-week teach-in can help elected officials see that.

pretty cool how far we've come in five years!
#WeekWithoutDriving

Shout it from the rooftops! Investing in transit agency capacity rather than outsourcing so much of their work to consultants SAVES MONEY.

New study finds that Norway's lavish EV subsidies increased car trips by 10-20% with "sizable shifts away from public transport use, cycling and walking."

doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

For too long, Division Street has quite literally divided our community. We're working hard to make the corridor safe and vibrant for all.

State and local transportation advocacy groups push for safety improvements to state-owned highways like Division Street On the evening of July 16, 74 people brave the heat for a walk and talk along a busy downtown portion of Division Street, the...

Thank you to @transpochoices.bsky.social for hosting this event!

www.inlander.com/news/state-a...

I don’t want to take *every* car off the road…

Four new middle housing projects just dropped in R1 zones across Spokane, including in Hillyard, East Central, Browne’s Addition, and Garland.

One of them is a 15-unit apartment building replacing a single-family home!

Read more in the today’s Spokane Rising news roundup: bit.ly/3U2m66E

News Roundup: 7/28 The state's latest condo reform is law! It should make stacked flat condos a lot more viable.

In this week’s Spokane Rising roundup:

📉 Rents are down 12-15% in the last year
🚌 STA is doing a low-income fare pilot
🏘️ Condo reform is now law
🚘 Parking reform is now law

Also: at least 40 more units of middle housing in development, plus a 156-unit apartment building.

Get the latest now:

The state's latest condo reform took effect today. Could it usher in a new era of small stacked-flat condo buildings across Washington?

Subscribe to get the latest in your inbox tomorrow morning: spokanerising.com

Yet the public only asks how much it will cost in regards to one of them...

Not a bad day to build some benches.

Traffic calming, 27x2027, land value tax, and road reallocation are mentioned here.

If you care about those topics, be sure to hear what these District 3 candidates think about them so you can be an informed voter.

20 Questions with District 3 Spokane City Council Candidates – RANGE Media Where do the three council candidates stand on public safety, affordability, renters’ rights and more? Here’s a bite-sized snapshot before you turn in your primary ballots!

If you live in the city of Spokane’s District 3, you’re special: you’re in the sole city district that has more than two city council candidates this year, meaning you have a primary election to vote in! We asked the three candidates a series of 20 questions to help you decide. Read now 👇

Yay! Low- income fares for #Spokane

$1 to ride the bus: Plan calls for many STA riders to pay reduced fare Low-income riders will soon get half-priced fare to ride the bus in Spokane after a vote Thursday by the Spokane Transit Authority to approve a two-year pilot program.

Low-income fare pilot program coming to STA.
www.spokesman.com/stories/2025...

We anticipate today's discussion of Low-Income Fares will be a spicy one and have drafted public comments accordingly.

Text reads: Good Afternoon, First, I want to express my thanks to interim Co-CEOs, Brandon Rapez-Betty and Karl Otterstrom, for their stewardship of Spokane Transit Authority over the last seven months. Your professionalism and commitment to STA during this transitional period was impressive and inspiring. So much so, that Spokane Reimagined has adopted a Co-Executive Director model for our own operations, with Sarah Rose and I sharing that role moving forward. As a token of our thanks, Spokane Reimagined has brought candy gift packs from Spokandy, for you to share with your respective teams. Don’t worry, the total value for each of you is under Washington State gift limits. Second, I want to commend Dr. Cortright and her team for the incredible work in marketing the new double decker fleet. From the Golden Ticket promotion to the blockbuster-styled commercials, your team has knocked it out of the park. I’m so excited to ride this fall. Finally, I want to discuss the Low-Income Fare Pilot Program under consideration today. Spokane Reimagined is in strong support of such a measure. In fact, we feel the program can go farther, either by raising income thresholds, reducing administrative burdens, or both. At a time when so many families struggle with the cost of living, making transportation as accessible as possible for those most at-risk is the right thing to do. STA already has discount and free fare programs. The Honored Rider, Stars & Stripes, and Rider’s License programs are well established, with free fares for youth and half price fares for seniors, people with disabilities, and active-duty military personnel and veterans. Some on this board might argue that a low-income fare will change the “character of ridership”, a term I’ve heard used at past board meetings. I would argue, how would you know what the character of ridership is if you don’t ride the bus? I’ve heard some members previously state their worry that with low-income fares, buses will become “mobi…

My comments for today's Spokane Transit Authority Board of Directors meeting:

If you want to "live in the past" join Spokane Reimagined!

SpokaneReimagined.org

Pike Place Market car ban extended amid uptick in foot traffic Citing positive feedback, increased visitors and the upcoming World Cup, the Market is continuing its car-free experiment through next spring.

Seattle's Pike Place Market is extending its car-free experiment through next spring

The Market say feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and data shows an uptick in foot traffic:
www.cascadepbs.org/news/2025/07...

On Spokane's busiest transit line and within a five minute walk of a grocery store, half a dozen restaurants, and a pharmacy.

A duplex and a single-family home become 21 multifamily units on E 29th Ave on Spokane's South Hill. (2024 → 2025)

How can Division Street be safer for everyone? 74 advocates walk it to find out. – RANGE Media With a new bus rapid transit line and dozens of active transportation projects in the works, Division Street upgrades could be a model for other main street highways.

Division Street is a state-owned highway, but it runs through the city, serving dual and sometimes conflicting roles as both a long-distance route and a local-access route — and that combination is deadly. rangemedia.co/divisi...

Great piece by @lpangborn.bsky.social covering our Megaproject for Safety walk & talk.

Thanks for joining us for a 85 degree noisy walk on a car sewer Lauren!

How can Division Street be safer for everyone? 74 advocates walk it to find out. – RANGE Media With a new bus rapid transit line and dozens of active transportation projects in the works, Division Street upgrades could be a model for other main street highways.

Division Street is your classic urban-state-highway: terrible to walk on yet also not great to drive on, and a dangerous car sewer stroad.

My latest for @rangemedia.co features @kirkhovenkotter.com @eriklowe.bsky.social and @barbchamberlain.bsky.social

rangemedia.co/division-st-...

Parking Reform works!!

Read our interview with Zack Zappone, a Spokane city councilor who played a big part in abolishing parking mandates city-wide.

parkingreform.org/2024/09/25/m...

My neighborhood brewery/pizzeria just expanded their space almost double and they're still pretty full on a Tuesday night and my husband just pointed out to me that they have virtually no parking, yet they've managed to have enough business to grow this much.
Win for no parking minimums/urbanism!