Why are you doing another study? I thought we already studied this topic?
There have been several studies about transportation in Spokane conducted in the last 20 years. However, none of the existing studies have focused specifically on the central city by examining different (public or mass, since auto traffic has been studied) transportation options (or modes). This study will result in the selection of transit route and mode choice (streetcar, bus, light rail, etc.) and will the first step toward construction and securing funding.

This project will assess existing central city corridors for their potential for future transit investment and identify ways to enhance connectivity between key destinations. The corridor and mode analyses will narrow the options to one or two that best meet the objectives of mobility, cost-effectiveness, environmental and economic development for transit service in and around the central city area.

How can I get involved with this project?
You can get involved several ways, read more about this on the get involved page.

Will my residence or business be impacted?
This is a planning project, so there will be no immediate impacts to any homes or businesses.

Does the project have a preferred alternative or transit mode?
There is no preferred alternative or transit mode at this time. The public involvement process and decision-making process will help narrow down the options (read more about that below).

How will alternatives be selected? How will you decide what neighborhoods to serve by new transit?
The decision-making process illustrates the groups involved in the project and the steps involved with selecting an alternative. The public, sounding board, and technical advisory group will develop many alternative ideas, which will be narrowed down to those that would be feasible and possible to implement. Then each of the remaining alternatives will be compared against a range of criteria and the results will be explained in detail in the Evaluation Framework memo.

After the alternatives are compared, the sounding board and technical advisory group will make a recommendation for a smaller number of alternatives to be studied, in an effort to select a single, preferred alternative. This recommendation will be reviewed by the core stakeholders, who will either agree or alter the recommendation before forwarding it to the City Council and Spokane Transit Authority Board, who will approve a final recommendation.