Public views potential downtown future

Bicycling, family functions and downtown neglect among concerns

MOSES LAKE — The future of downtown Moses Lake is attracting more attention, and people, to meetings on the topic.

About 40 retailers and residents were in attendance at the Moses Lake Museum and Art Center Thursday evening to hear City of Moses Lake assistant planner Lori Barlow and landscape architect Curt Carpenter present two concepts — known as Concept A and Concept B — for a redesign of Third Avenue and Sinkiuse Square, in the interest of making the area more pedestrian-friendly.

Methods to approach that goal included traffic-calming tools like diagonal parking, a raised median, sidewalk extensions, wider sidewalks and narrower streets, as well as increasing accessibility and sociability of the square.

As with the Jan. 11 meeting, the concepts presented were designed to garner feedback from those in attendance.

Another meeting will take place Tuesday at 8 a.m. in the Moses Lake Business Association meeting room in the Desert Plaza building.

There, Carpenter will present a combined concept, taking into account the feedback from the last two meetings and giving the public an idea of what will be presented before the Moses Lake City Council during their retreat Feb. 4, 5 and 6.

Carpenter said he had no idea what kind of response to expect from the retreat, although he hoped it would be a good one.

"What we're looking for is direction at council," he said. "I'm anticipating to put a presentation on a concept and we'll get feedback, I imagine in the same fashion as this meeting from the public, and get direction from the council from there on where to go with it."

Carpenter, Barlow and Sally Goodwin, executive director of the MLBA, all said they were pleased with the meeting's turnout.

"A marvelous, diverse group," Goodwin said.

Wayne Hall of Old Homestead Mortgage and RE/MAX Realty said he was present as a concerned citizen at Thursday's meeting.

"I'm interested in the well-being of downtown Moses Lake; I want to see more activity down here," he said. "I'm concerned that it's being neglected."

Hall said he preferred Carpenter's Concept A, which centered around a park in Sinkiuse Square, and provided more shading from trees.

"That's one of the problems with Moses Lake — whenever a tree gets to a certain height, they seem to want to cut it down," he said. "We're in a hot climate, we need to get that shade."

Hall said he thought it was about time that people started taking an interest in the downtown area and the welfare of the central community.

" Everything's just been sprawling outward, the downtown area's been neglected and I think we need to bring people back down here."

Many in attendance said they preferred Concept A.

Michael's on the Lake owner Mike Hamilton said it looked more friendly and more like something people would be able to relax in, and maybe even more cost effective.

"I'd like to see the traffic slowed down, and I'd like to see it be more of a friendly place," Hamilton said when asked what he would like to see happen downtown.

Citizen Pete Staudenraus said he was in attendance because he has lived in Moses Lake for 50 years. He said that people need a reason to come downtown, recalling days when there were shoe stores, drugstores, restaurants, jewelry stores, hardware stores and the like in the area.

"I'd do all my Christmas shopping … make my round around Broadway and Third Avenue and do all my shopping," he remembered. "People would come down there because they were shopping. That's where it was, there was a variety of stores and things they needed."

Today downtown is mostly comprised of gift shops and specialty stores, Staudenraus said.

"A lot of people don't have to come downtown," he said, adding that one of his chief concerns is traffic flow. Staudenraus suggested that another lake crossing is necessary when considering downtown and pedestrian friendliness.

Deb Miller was at the meeting primarily because of her participation with the Healthy Communities Project's Trail Planning Team, and to view Carpenter's concepts.

"I'm a bicyclist and I want to see what they're going to do to encourage bicycling downtown," she said, adding that her preference was also for Concept A. "I was pleased with the attendance at the meeting — it's probably one of the more attended meetings that I've come to, and I liked the input from the community. It seemed positive."

Fran Hall, wife of Wayne, said she was interested in seeing the downtown area grow, be healthy again and be aesthetically pleasing to anyone, be they visitors or citizens.

"I want to see something happen," she said. "It looks like it's going to start."

Cliff Alexander was yet another person who voiced his preference for Concept A, except for the trees in the middle of Third Avenue.

"I've been in other cities that have them and I like them on the sidewalk," he said. "I'd like to see a more friendly area, myself, and more use of the square over there … Or like Spokane does with their First Night, have some kind of family function down there one night, like the first of June, the end of school."

Resident Carolann Swartz thought it was good to see a new project and idea for downtown. In addition, as a downtown property owner, even though not in the immediate area, she would see the benefits spill over into an increase of property values.

Swartz is also working on the Sculptures Without Walls art project, and was eyeing what would be done with the revitalization, "because I think that that plays right into what we want to do with our sculptures."