AWH Planning Commission votes on Highway 2 improvements

At the special Planning Commission meeting on July 26, the committee voted on approving the Highway 2 Revitalization Plan, also known as the U.S. 2 Corridor Plan, after a presentation from Studio Cascade to the board. The board passed the plan with a unanimous vote. It will now move on to be voted on by the City Council.

“We have a lot of things going on here,” Ryan Hughes, the representative from Studio Cascade said. “We wanted to celebrate that and also improve things.”

Hughes described Highway 2 as the “central spine of the community” with about 10,000 people traveling on the road everyday according to Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

The vision statement of the Highway 2 Corridor Plan is to improve economic vitality in Airway Heights while improving safety and enhancing the community character and health. The corridor showcases the City’s diversity and the qualities that make Airway Heights a desirable place to live. Shopping and entertainment destinations at each gateway are both a constant and regional draw, a suburban lifestyle is present and a pronounced town center anchors the community’s identity. The corridor offers residents, commuters and visitors opportunities to travel efficiently through the City.

“This plan shows citizens commitment to the vision,” Derrick Braaten, the Development Services Director said. “This is a top down approach.”

The plan covers six areas of the city to improve upon. One of them includes the roundabout going in near the Spokane Tribe Casino, which did not come from Studio Cascade’s planning.

Beginning in July 2016, there were a variety of outreach events that included interviews, an open house and two community workshops to encourage the community to engage in giving input to the improvements.

There was participation at two community meetings which took place in September and October. The plan includes insight from the community and the future vision of the city, desired features along the corridor and concerns about the financial improvements. Overall, there were about 300 comments that were taken into consideration when drawing up the ideas.

City Council will vote on adopting the plan at a future date.

Grace Pohl can be reached at grace@cheneyfreepress.com.