Lauren

Mayor Brown Signs Updated 'Complete Streets' Ordinance into Law This legislation will incorporate more walking and biking aspects into street projects and save money while the City updates its street network.

News: Spokane has a new, stronger Complete Streets ordinance which mandates completion of street improvements as envisioned in documents like our Bicycle Master Plan.

Proud to support the Mayor, Council, and staff who worked together to get this into law.

7-0 says a lot!

Mercer Island’s Growth Plan Ruled Out of Compliance with State Law » The Urbanist # After the state's Growth Management Hearings Board struck down its plan, Mercer Island now has a year to update its Comprehensive Plan to meet affordable housing requirements. The initial version pr...

Big news 🎉
In April, we filed a challenge to Mercer Island's comprehensive plan, and last week we got a decision:

"The city of Mercer Island fell well short of state affordable housing requirements" the state’s Growth Management Hearings Board ruled late last week.
shorturl.at/VOeZp

6-year-old hit by suspected drunk driver in Spokane Valley SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — A 6-year-old boy is in the hospital with serious injuries after a drunk driver hit him on a sidewalk Monday night, then crashed into a house.

6-year-old seriously injured after suspected drunk driver hits him on sidewalk, crashes into house.

Three Lowe’s in Spokane County have these cameras in their parking lots. Those Lowe’s are located at:

5204 E Sprague Ave, Spokane Valley

16205 E Broadway Ave, Spokane Valley

6606 N Division, Spokane

More reporting after the RANGE break, from @lpangborn.bsky.social and me

Housing king @zackzappone.bsky.social 👑

This is a great win for urbanists in Spokane.

Zack has been a consistent leader for middle housing, removing costly parking mandates, and expanding Spokane Transit service. I'm excited to see what he can do with four more years on Council.

People will be like "I would do anything for my kids!!!" right up until you suggest dropping the speed limit to 20mph.

“the poors” don’t deserve access to parks Mike

Build build build! Thanks for the roundup!

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

LET’S BUILD YALL

Spokane proposes zoning changes to expand childcare access in neighborhoods SPOKANE, Wash. — If you've been hoping for a more conveniently located childcare option, you might be in luck.

Spokane officials are working to remove zoning barriers that have kept daycare centers out of residential neighborhoods.

An Underrated Upside to YIMBY Ideas? Better-Looking Buildings A debate about the future of the pro-housing movement should consider the role that zoning and building codes can play in improving the architecture of housing, and vice versa.

Building on some housing debates this week, I wrote about YIMBY and design.

NIMBYs use aesthetics as a tool to block new housing, through design review and historic districting.

But growth is actually the key to better-looking buildings — and vice versa. www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

Happy July 27th! The Shared Streets Law goes into effect today. Cities across Washington State can—at their discretion—designate streets with pedestrian priority and a 10 mph speed limit.

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.

Exactly. Bollards, curbs, chicanes, speed tables, bulbouts, and the like are the surest way to slow drivers.

Love a self-enforcing design

2. It would prevent people from parking in it (looking at you Boulder Beach)

3. It would connect better with the off-street trail portions (which already run along the south side)

4. It would not break the bank because it would only require paint and whatever is used to harden it where needed

Hey what if Upriver Drive between Avista and Maringo looked like this

1. It would be more comfortable to walk/run/ride in because it’s nicer to share space with other cyclists and runners than to hope a driver doesn’t cut into the bike lane/shoulder.

YIMBYism started as a single-issue movement. It's time to think bigger. New research shows that voters who like cities back denser housing. To make cities more likeable, YIMBYs need to act more like a party.

I want to enthusiastically endorse this piece from @cselmendorf.bsky.social & @profschleich.bsky.social. Thus far YIMBY has been almost entirely focused on More Housing, but ultimately, if you want people to accept density, you have to make it *nice*, and that means more than just housing.

He’s clearly never visited any first world county

We’ve got both a willing council and mayor; gotta ride that wave and get as much done as possible before the dynamics inevitably change.

Hell yeah, thank you! And Hill is local so should especially listen to anyone in Spokane

Okay for real are we genetically predisposed to ear issues

???

It’s been called Division Street since 1891

Cascadia unite

Great to have so many people show up to talk about how we imagine a different transportation future that works for everyone. I lived in Spokane for many years and am happy every time I go back to see more and more good bike connections.

Very much looking forward to next WA leg session so we can get SB 5156 passed. It had landslide support in the Senate but struggled in the House.

www.theurbanist.org/2025/04/03/e...

I’m fine with limiting the speed of e-scooters and e-bikes just as long as we do the same for every vehicle on our roads.