Consultants unveil draft 5th Avenue community plan focused on walkability, housing and schoolyard improvements

Consultants working on the 5th Avenue Community Plan presented a draft neighborhood framework at the Spokane Land Commission workshop, centering goals on identity, connectivity, livability, prosperity and housing stability.

"People really linked the availability and quality of the pedestrian experience to a sense of community, to small business development, to safety," said Radhika Nair, principal planner and project manager for the consultant team. She said walkability and traffic calming emerged as the strongest priorities in outreach.

The draft covers the area south of I-90 between Liberty Park and Francis Scott Elementary. It proposes targeted interventions including improving the Perry Street underpass with murals and activation; a "welcome mat" or raised intersection at Liberty Park to anchor connections to the library and pool; intersection safety projects (bulb-outs, crosswalks, lighting and shade structures); and temporary activation for business nodes near Cal Maxey Center and Fresh Soul.

One of the plan's early-action items is a partnership to "green" the Francis Scott Elementary schoolyard in coordination with the Trust for Public Land, intended to create play space that also serves as community open space outside school hours. The draft also suggests moderate mixed-use nodes along 5th Avenue and areas north of the elementary school where infill could support pedestrian-oriented commerce and housing.

Consultants emphasized the plan is intended to guide capital investments and grant-seeking, and to be integrated into the comprehensive-plan process rather than to immediately change zoning. "Once the plan's adopted, the priorities get reflected through and integrate into capital improvement or, you know, looking for grants," Nair said.

The consultant team plans a public rollout this week with an online meeting June 11, an interactive map and translated outreach. Commissioners asked staff to clarify how the plan's land-use recommendations will align with the citywide comprehensive plan; consultants said the citywide comp plan will provide the ultimate growth-strategy categories, and the neighborhood plan will inform local application of those categories.

Next steps: the consultant team will gather summer feedback, revise the draft for a fall workshop and public hearing, with adoption targeted by the end of the year.