Streetscape News

(Downtown Spokane, WA, July 2, 2008) –The Downtown Spokane Business Improvement District (BID) has purchased 18 new black, urban-style garbage cans, adorned with a cut out of the Downtown Spokane logo, in addition to 18 new black planters to freshen the look of our streetscapes.The BID Clean Team, with assistance from Security Ambassadors, have begun replacing the familiar 12 gallon, Expo ’74, cement receptacles, removed by the City’s sanitation department, with an updated, sleek, 30 gallon trash receptacle for a larger capacity. Downtown Spokane’s streetscape is getting a much needed update to compliment the progress, restoration and transformation that has taken place in Downtown over the last decade, including over $3.4 billion of investment.

The revitalization of the Downtown streetscape will occur in stages over the next few years, beginning with the core area between Wall and Stevens, and Riverside and Spokane Falls Boulevard. The new planters will follow in the same streetscape area in early July. The current terra cotta planters on Main Avenue will be relocated to enhance other areas of Downtown until a unified look is accomplished.

In addition to the updated look in Downtown, the BID has a new Clean Team to introduce. The Clean Team provides enhanced services that keep Downtown Spokane clean and beautiful and was recently brought in-house at the Downtown Spokane Partnership (DSP). The crew of 7, Nolan Atchley, Alex Emenegger, James Frith, James Rackliff, Logan Reed, Bill Standridge, and Michael Weston, cleans five days a week in the common areas throughout the 80-block BID. The team removes more than 5,000 bags of litter a year, in addition to removing snow and ice in the winter. The Clean Team’s commitment to remove all graffiti within 24 hours results in the elimination of 15-20,000 pieces in a year. To contact the Clean Team for graffiti removal or other common area cleaning needs please call 509.353.9111.

“Together with our partners, we are proud to continue revitalizing our city’s downtown into a community alive and bursting with possibilities,” said Marty Dickinson, President of the DSP/BID. “The heart of our success and mission is the belief that a healthy, clean and beautiful core is crucial to regional prosperity. The community can take pride in Downtown, the region’s living room, always ready for everyone to live, work and play.”

To learn more about what you can do to improve Downtown Streetscapes, click here!