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The “Right Trees” In The Right Place
In 1908, following the
recommendations of the Olmstead Brothers of
Brookline, MA, Spokane undertook a major street
beautification effort. 80,000 trees were purchased
and planted in strips and medians throughout the
city. Now nearly 100 years old, many of these trees
are nearing the end of their natural life spans.
It’s time for Spokane to undertake major initiatives
to address the long-term health and maintenance
street trees throughout the city. In addition to
well-known environmental benefits like energy
conservation, wildlife habitat, soil stabilization
and stormwater retention, rows of regularly placed
canopy trees create spatially unified streets.
Bungalows, Four Squares, Tudors, Colonials and 60’s
Ranchers are all linked and connected to each other
and their surrounding neighborhoods by these
beautiful outdoor corridors. The trees calm traffic
and make sidewalks feel safer. According to the
USDA Forest Service, mature trees ad an average of
10% to a property’s value. They may even extend the
life of asphalt by reducing temperatures on very hot
days.
“The Right Tree In The Right
Space” is a mantra of most urban foresters,
arborists, and tree advocates throughout the
country. These professionals are committed to the
health of trees and concerned also about protecting
sidewalks and curbs from invasive roots.
Consequently, most tree ordinances recommend**
small trees in narrow planting strips, medium height
trees in medium width strips, and large trees only
in wide strips. In the future, the majestic
Sycamores and Norway Maples common our neighborhoods
won’t be allowed along most residential Spokane
streets. Unfortunately, the crowns of small
trees don’t grow high enough to avoid traffic,
parked cars, and pedestrians. Such plantings are
really “Poke-You-In-The-Eye –Bushes, not street
trees. Nor are large trees planted in rows 15’ away
from curbs “street trees”; they have nothing to do
with streets.
Special consideration needs to
be given for historic neighborhoods. According to
Section 17C.200.050,B,7 of Spokane’s municipal code:
“If a street has a uniform planting of street
trees or a distinctive species within the
right-of-way, then new street trees should match the
planting pattern and species.” This
contradicts the city’s planting guidelines, which
need to be revised for historic neighborhoods. We
also need to pay more attention to zoning code
section 12.02.916 which calls for the Protection of
Public and Private Historic and Heritage Trees.
Potential problems caused by street trees must not
be used to diminish their considerable benefits.
And we cannot allow all important urban design
decisions to be made by road engineers, utility
company attorneys, and the bureaucrats who select
the monstrously over-sized garbage trucks tearing up
our streets. “Efficiency” is fine, however, quality
of life matters, too.
If we don’t begin to seriously
address the problems facing our street trees, future
generations will find Spokane’s historic
neighborhoods barren places with diminished value
and little real beauty. We need to take action now.
Gary Lauerman, SPA Vice President
A Missed “Opportunity”?
 Life
used to be slower and more decentralized back at the beginning of the
twentieth century. Before I-90 and the reliance on the modern automobile
that we take for granted today, moving from place to place was a slower
process, whether by foot, horse, early automobile, or trolley.
Consequently, a lot of places became more important centers of life than
they are today. Back then, downtown Spokane was the main “place” in the
Spokane region; the center for the vast majority of business and
activity. If we had lived back then and we wanted to go to Coeur
d’Alene, we would have taken Sprague Avenue. Along the way, we would
have come across a few other significant “places,” each one functioning
as a little self-contained city. In what is today the East Central
Neighborhood, Sprague still looks like any “Main Street” in America,
lined with commercial buildings that front along sidewalks that once
bustled with life. Nearby, several large historic churches, and an
enormous historic brick school building (today home to a trucking
company) attest to the thriving community that once called this section
of Sprague home.
It is one of the sad ironies of modern life that although people still
value meaningful “places,” modern development too often destroys them,
or fails to create them. Today more and more environments are designed
for high-speed automobiles rather than low-speed pedestrians, and they
tend to all look alike, imposed by some corporate headquarters far away
rather than guided by local history and tastes. More and more, citizens
are coming together in public meetings and workshops to imagine new
forms of modern development that can recapture what they value in the
old forms, such as beautiful “places” where people can congregate,
socialize, and enjoy a civic, public realm. Yet all too often, it seems,
placelessness nevertheless seems to win out over “place.”
Farther along Sprague on our old-time journey east, we would have come
across a little community called “Opportunity,” a block of businesses
fronting a lively sidewalk where residents might just bump into one
another and say hello. Recently the city of Spokane Valley funded the
Sprague/Appleway Revitalization Plan, facilitated by urban design
consultants Freedman Tung and Bottomley of San Francisco, to help
imagine a new city center. A survey found that residents overwhelmingly
wanted an attractive city center, with a sense of place and storefronts
along sidewalks on both Sprague and Appleway. Many times during group
meetings, the old downtown of Opportunity, which starts at the
intersection of Sprague and Pines, was referred to at the model for what
people wanted. This block houses venerable family-owned businesses such
as Peters Hardware and Dave’s Bar and Grill, and other local landmarks
like Arnold’s Army Surplus, the Valley Repertory Theater, and the
Spokane Valley Heritage Museum.
About half of Opportunity―four historic buildings on the block,
including the nearly 100-year-old Opportunity Bank)―could soon meet the
wrecking ball to make way for a Rite Aid, if a current proposal by
developers is approved. That would be a shame, not only because of the
loss of irreplaceable historic buildings, but for the missed opportunity
these buildings represent. Perhaps they could renovated, and Rite Aid
could move into them. Or perhaps they could certainly be renovated for
other uses. Preserving these buildings would significantly boost Spokane
Valley’s exciting new planning process, while demolition for a new Rite
Aid would deliver a significant setback. Historic preservation is a
proven economic engine that helps local businesses, builds community and
encourages safe pedestrian-oriented development. Spokane Valley
residents have overwhelmingly expressed their support for development of
this kind. Spokane Preservation Advocates now encourages the City of
Spokane Valley to save historic Opportunity from the wrecking ball, and
build upon it as a model for future development.
Matt
Cohen, SPA Advocacy Chair
Olmsted Celebration 2008
DID YOU KNOW THAT…
- Spokane’s Park System was designed by the
world-famous Olmsted Brothers Landscape
Architecture firm whose founder, Frederick Law
Olmsted, designed New York City’s Central Park.
- During John Duncan’s tenure as Parks
Director, Spokane had more park acreage per
person than any other U.S. city.
- A park is
found within walking distance of every
neighborhood in Spokane.
- Although they did not design Manito Park,
the Olmsted firm left its stamp through a series
of revisions they recommended that are reflected
in Manito Park’s design today.
- John Olmsted was the first to advocate
conservation of the Spokane River and its
riverbanks as well as the falls and the gorge.
Riverfront Park and the Centennial Trail are
more recent realizations of this ideal.
- Thanks to the urging of Park Board President
Aubrey White, the Park System Plan the Olmsted
firm prepared for Spokane was so complete that
it established a foundation for city planning
and continues to influence urban form today.
- When local funding for parkland acquisitions
became scarce during the depression, Aubrey
White and John Duncan turned to other resources
including state and federal programs and the
Spokane River Parkway Associations to expand
open space and scenic roadway amenities,
Riverside and Mount Spokane State Parks and
Upriver and Downriver Drives are among these
projects.
The civic leaders and landscape professionals that
helped shape our park system have left us a
priceless heritage. The Park System plan was
delivered to the Park Board in May, 1908, and with
passage of a million-dollar bond issue, the Park
Board began acquisition of the undeveloped lands
specified in the plan. From these beginnings, the
City’s Park System has grown to over 3480 acres. An
exhibit at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture
will open in early October following a visit by the
Board of Directors of the National Association for
Olmsted Parks. These events will begin a year-long
centennial celebration of our Park System. The East
Central, Rockwood and Corbin Park neighborhoods are
anticipating commemorative events. Other plans, from
the 2008 Mother’s Day Historic Homes tour to
restoration of the Davenport Hotel’s roof garden are
being considered.
If your neighborhood or group wishes to sponsor
an activity or plan an event, you are encouraged to
join us. Contact Sally Reynolds at 448-0311.
Sally Reynolds
Page updated
03/13/2008.
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