City presents Spokane Falls Boulevard rebuild options, including protected bike lanes and two-way conversion

Kevin Picasso, a principal engineer in the city’s Integrated Capital Management department, presented options for a full rebuild of Spokane Falls Boulevard at the Bicycle Advisory Board meeting on Oct. 24, 2025.

The project team presented four broad layout alternatives — keeping a three-lane one-way travelway with a protected bike lane, two different two-lane alternatives (including one that would allow a two-way protected cycle track), and a one-travel-lane alternative with striped shoulders — and asked the board to provide feedback on a preferred direction.

Why it matters: Spokane Falls Boulevard runs adjacent to Riverfront Park and the convention center and carries aging utilities that staff said date to the 1890s and early 1900s. City staff described the work as a “full rebuild,” not a routine overlay, meaning underground utility replacement and traffic-safety upgrades would occur along with surface reconstruction.

Picasso said the project has two primary drivers. “One, the street condition itself … that structural section is not adequate, and that requires a lot of frequent maintenance,” he said, and second, the need to upgrade or replace vintage utilities and increase capacity in places.

Public engagement to date includes a summer outreach and an online survey that drew about 1,200 responses. Survey priorities grouped pedestrian and accessibility improvements first, beautification second and bike facilities third; responses were split on whether to convert the eastern half of the corridor back to two-way vehicle traffic.

On layout choices, Picasso summarized the options west of Stevens Street: a narrowed three-lane option that would create space for a one-way protected bike lane; two-lane options that either allow a one-way protected bike lane on the north side or a two-way protected cycle track; and a one-lane option that would still need a 20-foot clear paved width to satisfy downtown emergency-access requirements.

Board members pressed operational details. Picasso described an emerging idea to move the bike crossover at Bernard Street into a diagonal crossing — rather than routing cyclists back to the south side at Division Street — which would require “a different and special traffic signal operation” and “a separate phase for that crossover of that bike traffic.” He warned staff would need traffic analysis to confirm the signal phasing could be added without unacceptable delay to other approaches.

Picasso said final decisions will need to balance emergency vehicle access, pedestrian crossing distances, parking, business access and event traffic at the convention center. He estimated design work could begin in early to mid-2026 and said the project team is targeting construction in 2028.

No formal board vote was taken; Picasso asked members to send follow-up comments by email and staff said the board’s input would feed the next round of stakeholder outreach.

Members of the public and multiple board members voiced support for protected bike facilities to separate higher-speed e-bikes and scooters from pedestrians near the Centennial Trail and Riverfront Park. Concerns raised included how signal timing would handle diagonal bicycle crossings and how event traffic at the convention center would be managed.

The presentation materials and comment opportunities were described as part of ongoing outreach; staff said they intend to present a preferred alternative after additional stakeholder workshops and an elected/directors workshop in mid-November.

For more information or to comment, staff asked the board to email collected comments to Tyler, who will consolidate and forward them to the project team.