Spokane Valley is a city in
Spokane County
Spokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 539,339, making it the fourth-most populous county in Washington. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest cit ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, United States, and the largest
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
of
Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
. It is located east of Spokane, west of
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Coeur d'Alene ( ; french: Cœur d'Alène, lit=Heart of an stitching awl, Awl ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the largest city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolita ...
, and surrounds the city of
Millwood on three sides. The city incorporated as the City of Spokane Valley on March 31, 2003. The population was 102,976 at the
2020 census,
making it the eighth-largest city in Washington state. Spokane Valley is named after
the valley of the
Spokane River
The Spokane River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northern Idaho and eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a low mountainous area east of the Columbia, passing through the Spokane Valley and the city of ...
, in which it is located. The city and the general area is colloquially referred to as "The Valley" by residents of the
Spokane–Coeur d'Alene area.
Spokane Valley hosts a variety of community events such as the Spokane County Interstate Fair, Valleyfest, and the Inland Northwest Craft Beer Festival and is home to the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum and the home ground of the
Spokane Indians
The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...
minor league baseball team.
History
![Home surrounded by orchards, Greenacres, Washington, approximately 1903 (WASTATE 1660)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Home_surrounded_by_orchards%2C_Greenacres%2C_Washington%2C_approximately_1903_%28WASTATE_1660%29.jpeg)
The City of Spokane Valley incorporated on March 31, 2003. At its creation, it was the third-largest newly incorporated city in US history (after
Centennial, Colorado
Centennial is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,418 at the 2020 United States Census, making Centennial the 11th most populous municipality in Colorado. Centennial is a par ...
, which incorporated in 2001; and
Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is located north of Downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from I-95 and Northeast 2nd Avenue to its east to Northwest 47th and Northwest 57th Avenues to its w ...
, which incorporated about five weeks before Spokane Valley).
The city formed from combining the urbanized unincorporated areas east of Spokane City, including
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
s (CDPs) of
Dishman,
Opportunity
Opportunity may refer to:
Places
* Opportunity, Montana, an unincorporated community, United States
* Opportunity, Nebraska, an unincorporated community, United States
* Opportunity, Washington, a former census-designated place, United States
* 3 ...
,
Trentwood,
Veradale, part of
Greenacres, and East Spokane. The new city boundaries did not include the incorporated areas such as
Millwood and
Liberty Lake, nor the protected areas such as the
Dishman Hills Natural Area. It was initially delayed by a petition from Spokane, because it included the Yardley industrial area, to which Spokane had already extended utilities, and had plans to annex. Prior to the successful vote May 21, 2002, there had been four failed attempts to form a city in the Valley. The main arguments for incorporation centered around increased voice in local governance and the threat of annexation by the
City of Spokane. The main arguments against incorporation included contentment with
Spokane County
Spokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 539,339, making it the fourth-most populous county in Washington. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest cit ...
provided services and the threat of increased taxes and bureaucracy by the new city. Both sides claimed their opponents' arguments were entirely untrue scare tactics.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Water features in the city include
Shelley Lake
Shelley Lake is a small lake located entirely in the city of Spokane Valley, in the U.S. state of Washington. The lake is surrounded on three sides by the 248 lot gated community of Shelley Lake Estates. The lake is kept full by Saltese Creek, wh ...
, a small lake which is fed by the
Saltese Creek
Saltese Creek is an approximately long stream in Spokane County, Washington, United States. Originally only , the lower of the stream, along with around of drainage canals were dug to drain Saltese Lake. The stream now functions as one of two p ...
.
The City of Spokane Valley lies along the banks of the Spokane River as it flows from its source in
Lake Coeur d'Alene
Lake Coeur d'Alene, officially Coeur d'Alene Lake ( ), is a natural dam-controlled lake in North Idaho, located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. At its northern end is the city of Coeur d'Alene. It spans in length and rang ...
on its way to the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wà na'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
at the
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake (also called Lake Roosevelt) is the reservoir created in 1941 by the impoundment of the Columbia River by the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state. It is named for Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was president during the con ...
reservoir.
[ The city lies along both banks of the river, but most of the city lies to the south of the river.][ To the south of the valley in which the city sits is the southern extent of the ]Selkirk Mountains
The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mica Pe ...
, which are most prominent in the area east of Coeur d'Alene.[ The valley is within the Northern Rockies Level III ]ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
. The valley exhibits signs of the prehistoric geologic events that shaped the area and region such as the Missoula Floods
The Missoula floods (also known as the Spokane floods or the Bretz floods or Bretz's floods) were cataclysmic glacial lake outburst floods that swept periodically across eastern Washington and down the Columbia River Gorge at the end of the last ...
which ended 12,000 to 15,000 years ago. The Spokane valley
The Spokane Valley is a valley of the Spokane River through the southern Selkirk Mountains in the U.S. state of Washington.
The valley is home to the cities of Spokane and its suburbs Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, and Millwood. The valley i ...
was gouged out by repeated failures in the ice dam that held Glacial Lake Missoula
Lake Missoula was a prehistoric proglacial lake in western Montana that existed periodically at the end of the last ice age between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago. The lake measured about and contained about of water, half the volume of Lake Mic ...
.[
The city limits are roughly defined to the west and southwest by Havana Street and the Dishman Hills Conservation Area; to the north by Felts Field, the City of Millwood, the Spokane River, and a few minor roads north of the river; to the east by Barker Road; and to the south by the small hills which divide the city from the ]Palouse
The Palouse ( ) is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, prima ...
region.
The city of Spokane Valley is part of the Spokane–Coeur d'Alene Combined Statistical Area (CSA) and lies between the two anchor cities, directly east of Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
and to the west of Coeur d'Alene.[ The city is also part of the wider Inland Northwest region, consisting of eastern Washington, northern Idaho, northwestern Montana, and northeastern Oregon.
]
Neighborhoods and communities
Prior to World War II, Spokane Valley had been a predominantly rural area, a productive site for farms and orchards since it was first irrigated in 1895. In 1940, the population of the valley was 10,000.[ During World War II, with increased industrial activity in the central business district, particularly the railroads, new migrants to the Spokane area began to settle, shop, and do business in outlying areas where it was more quiet and less crowded and blighted.][ In 1960 the population of the valley was about 45,000 and by 1970 it had become a suburb of 60,000 residents.][ The City of Spokane Valley incorporated in 2003, centered around the historic communities of ]Opportunity
Opportunity may refer to:
Places
* Opportunity, Montana, an unincorporated community, United States
* Opportunity, Nebraska, an unincorporated community, United States
* Opportunity, Washington, a former census-designated place, United States
* 3 ...
, Dishman, and Veradale and including the communities of Greenacres, Trentwood, Yardley, and Chester, forging together an assemblage of small townships, mercantile hubs, and unincorporated communities.[ Because the City of Spokane Valley shares its name with the unincorporated area it was carved from, the term "Spokane Valley" is often used in reference to an area greater than that defined by the city limits.
]
Climate
Spokane Valley experiences a temperate climate (Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Csa''), with a warm summer and rainy winter. Precipitation averages just over annually, with December averaging the most precipitation with and July the least with .[ July is the hottest month of the year, with an average temperature of and January is the coldest, with an average temperature of .][
]
Demographics
2010 census
As of the census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 89,755 people, 36,558 households, and 23,119 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 38,851 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.9% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 1.1% African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 1.2% Native American, 1.7% Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.3% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 1.4% from other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 4.6% of the population.
There were 36,558 households, of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.8% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.99.
The median age in the city was 37.3 years. 24% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.1% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 14.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.
Arts and culture
Places of worship
The Spokane Islamic Center in Spokane Valley became the first mosque in the Spokane area in 2009. A messianic Jewish synagogue, Synagogue Chavurat HaMashiach, is also located in the city.
The greater valley area is also home to the 59th temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dedicated in 1999, which administers 15 regions across eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and northwestern Montana.
Arts and theater
An organization that is dedicated to cultivating the arts in the city is the Spokane Valley Arts Council, an independent non-profit organization founded in 2004. The council maintains an exhibit of local artists in the CenterPlace Regional Event Center foyer, and commissions sculptures and monuments for community parks and buildings, as well as sponsors an artist showcase auction and fundraiser each October.[ The exhibits are rotated every three months.][
In the theatre arts, the professional not-for-profit Spokane Valley Summer Theatre provides a season of live theater in the Central Valley Performing Arts Center located in Central Valley High School.
]
Museums
Spokane Valley Heritage Museum
The Spokane Valley Heritage Museum opened in 2005 and is located in the historic Spanish mission revivalist-style Opportunity
Opportunity may refer to:
Places
* Opportunity, Montana, an unincorporated community, United States
* Opportunity, Nebraska, an unincorporated community, United States
* Opportunity, Washington, a former census-designated place, United States
* 3 ...
Township Hall. The museum's goal is to collect, preserve and exhibit the history and culture of the Spokane Valley and the museum houses archives of old newspapers and records, photographs, as well as exhibits that feature stories about the Native Americans that historically inhabited the valley, apple orchards and industry in the valley, and exhibits that recount the city's early history with aircraft and flight.[
]
Community events
Spokane County Interstate Fair
On the Friday after Labor Day, the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center hosts the ten-day Spokane County Interstate Fair. Events and activities at the fair revolve around traditional county fair
An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...
activities such as carnival game
A carnival game is a game of chance or skill that can be seen at a traveling carnival, charity fund raiser, amusement arcade and amusement park, or on a state and county fair midway. They are also commonly played on holidays such as Mardi Gra ...
s and rides, food, a rodeo
Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...
, and a livestock show
A livestock show is an event where livestock are exhibited and judged on certain phenotypical breed traits as specified by their respective breed standard. Species of livestock that may be shown include pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, horses, llamas ...
accompanied by live music.
The Spokane County Fair and Expo Center is home to dozens of various events throughout the year; it is situated on , with over of exhibition space, livestock facilities, indoor and outdoor arenas, lawns, and parking.
Valleyfest
Valleyfest is an annual three day festival held every September at Mirabeau Point Park, the adjacent CenterPlace Regional Event Center, and Plantes Ferry Park and Sports Complex. Festivities include the Hearts of Gold parade down Sprague Avenue, "Fishing at the Falls", a classic car show, and a 5K or 10K run and duathlon
Duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg in a format similar to triathlons. The International Triathlon Union governs the sport internationally.
Distance and format
...
that starts and ends at Plantes Ferry Park.[ The event features live music and hosts various other activities at the CenterPlace Regional Event Center.][
]
Inland NW Craft Beer Festival
The Inland Northwest Craft Beer Festival (formerly the Spokane Oktoberfest) is a two-day beer festival
A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales.
Asia
* Singapore holds an annual Beer Festiva ...
hosted by the Washington Beer Commission annually in September at Avista Stadium. The festival showcases the offerings of local and Washington state breweries and sometimes breweries in other western states. The festival features live music and food truck
A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van) or trailer, equipped to cook, prepare, serve, and/or sell food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare food from scratc ...
vendors for attendees; one day of the festival caters to family friendly activities as well and features a bouncy house.
Sports
The Spokane Indians
The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...
, a High Single-A baseball team in the Northwest League
The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...
(NWL) and a farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
of the Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
since 2021, have their home ground in the valley. The Indians play their home games at the 6,803-seat Avista Stadium
Avista Stadium is a baseball park in the northwest United States, located in Spokane Valley, Washington. It is the home ballpark of the Spokane Indians, a minor league baseball team in the High-A Northwest League. and have won seven NWL titles since their Short-Season-A debut in 1982. Prior to 1982, the Indians played in the Triple-A level Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
(PCL); the franchise has won 12 league titles: four in the PCL and eight in the NWL.
Spokane Valley hosts the annual Cycle Celebration, a cycling event presented by the organizers of Valleyfest. The event caters to beginning riders as well as more serious riders with 10-mile, 25-mile, and 50-mile marked routes with comfort stations along the course. Each route starts at the Mirabeau Point Park Meadows and the 10-mile course is routed east onto the Spokane River Centennial Trail, while the 25-mile course takes riders to the Saltese Uplands The Saltese Uplands Conservation Area is a 522 acre conservation area in Spokane County in the U.S. state of Washington. The conservation area covers the Saltese Uplands, which are situated on the western slope of the Holiday Hills, immediately to ...
, and the most rigorous 50-mile course is routed through a rural area over hills and prairies that provide views of Mica Peak
Mica Peak is the name of two separate mountain summits in the United States located approximately apart; one in Spokane County, Washington and the other in Kootenai County, Idaho. The two peaks are located along the same ridge, which separates t ...
and Mount Spokane
Mount Spokane levation €”previously known as Mount Baldy until 1912 due to its pronounced bald spot—is a mountain in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, located northeast of Spokane, Washington, Spokane, Washington (state), Was ...
before reaching the finish line at Liberty Lake.[
]
Parks and recreation
The City of Spokane Valley maintains about of parkland and open spaces. Among the most notable parks is Mirabeau Point Park, as it contains the CenterPlace Regional Event Center, the Discovery Playground, the flat and grassy Mirabeau Meadows as well as a natural area that features walking trails and a natural spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season)
Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...
-fed waterfall, the Mirabeau Springs waterfall. The natural area of the park is a popular place for the rock climbing community, featuring 14 bolted routes, and toward the eastern edge of the park is a connection to the Centennial Trail A Centennial Trail is either a trail created to celebrate a centennial, or the memorialization of a path or trail that has endured for a century. These can be, but are not necessarily, rail trails.
Centennial Trails in the United States
* Centen ...
. Spokane Valley also has three seasonal outdoor pools.
Government
The City of Spokane Valley was incorporated on March 31, 2003, and operates as a non-charter code city under a council-manager government. Under the council-manager form of government, law making authority is vested in an elected city council and a hired city manager who is responsible to administer and execute the policies and plans of the legislative branch. The city council consists of seven councilmembers whom are elected at-large every two years with four-year terms; Council meetings are held in the Council Chambers of City Hall on Tuesdays at 6 pm.[ The Mayor is appointed from among the councilmembers on a biennial basis at the first meeting of a new council and is the ceremonial leadership position in the city.][
In Washington state government, the city of Spokane Valley is located in Washington's 4th ]legislative district
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
and in the federal government, the city is in Washington's 5th congressional district
Washington's 5th congressional district encompasses the Eastern Washington counties of Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane, Whitman, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, and Asotin, along with parts of Adams and Franklin. It is c ...
and is represented by Representative Cathy McMorris-Rodgers
Cathy Anne McMorris Rodgers (born May 22, 1969) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for , which encompasses the eastern third of the state and includes Spokane, the state's second-largest city. A Republican, McMorris Rodger ...
and Senators Maria Cantwell
Maria Ellen Cantwell (; born October 13, 1958) is an American politician and former businesswoman serving as the junior United States senator from Washington since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the Washingto ...
and Patty Murray
Patricia Lynn Murray (; born October 11, 1950) is an American politician and educator who is the senior United States senator from Washington since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Murray was in the Washington State Senate from 1988 to ...
.
Education
Within Spokane Valley city limits, the public has access to one library which is part of the Spokane County Library District and features a studio
A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
which can be used for recording, production, and broadcasting. For educational attainment, 93.3 percent of the city residents have a high school diploma or higher and 23.4 percent hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Public primary and secondary education in Spokane Valley is provided by multiple public school districts, including the Central Valley School District
Central Valley School District No. 356 is a K–12 public school district located in Spokane Valley, Washington, Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake, Washington. Over 14,100 students attend one of the twenty-one schools within the district.
Histo ...
(CVSD), West Valley School District (WVSD), East Valley School District (EVSD), and a portion of western Spokane Valley by Spokane Public Schools
Spokane Public Schools (District No. 81) is a public school district in Spokane County, Washington, and serves the city of Spokane. The district includes oversight and administration of seven high schools, six middle schools, and 34 elementary sc ...
(SPS). Of the school districts exclusive to the valley, the largest in terms of enrollment is CVSD with a student population of 14,593 in grades PK-12th grade, followed by EVSD with 4,277, and WVSD with 3,862. There are also several private schools
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
in the city, most of which are parochial Parochial is an adjective which may refer to:
* Parishes, in religion
** Parish churches, also called parochial churches
* Parochial schools, primary or secondary schools affiliated to a religious organisation
* Parochialism
Parochialism is the ...
. Private schools include the PK-12 grade Valley Christian School
The Valley Christian Schools (VCCS) are private Christian schools located in Dublin, California, US. Valley Christian Schools offers a college preparatory education to students ranging from preschool through twelfth grade. VCS is located sout ...
, an ASCI-accredited non-denominational
A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination.
Overview
The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼà Fait ...
Christian school and The Oaks Academy, an ACCS-accredited K-12 non-denominational Christian school. High school students in the region can attend Spokane Valley Tech, a vocational school supported by a consortium of area school districts that offers free technical training for high school juniors and seniors to gain skills for career development in emerging industries and prepare for college. The Spokane Valley Tech Skills Center and STEM Academy primarily serves high school students attending public and private high schools in the greater Spokane area and eastern Washington region.
Historically, Spokane Valley had a four-year liberal arts college called Spokane University, which was founded in 1913 and was noted for its fine arts
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
program which included Clyfford Still
Clyfford Still (November 30, 1904 – June 23, 1980) was an American painter, and one of the leading figures in the first generation of Abstract Expressionists, who developed a new, powerful approach to painting in the years immediately follo ...
, a leading figure in the abstract expressionist
Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...
movement as an alum; the university ceased operations in 1933 amidst the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. The locale it once occupied bears reminders of the institution in the form of a road name, University Road and a public high school that once used the former university campus, University High School.[ The Valley Christian School currently occupies the campus grounds.
Active higher education institutions in the Spokane Valley includes a campus of Carrington College, which primarily offers degree programs in ]healthcare
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
fields such as medical assisting
A medical assistant, also known as a "clinical assistant" or healthcare assistant in the USA is an allied health professional who supports the work of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other health professionals, usually ...
, veterinary assisting and medical billing
Medical billing is a payment practice within the United States healthcare system. The process involves a healthcare provider obtaining insurance information from a patient and filing, following up on and appealing claims with health insurance co ...
and coding. The school has produced a large portion of the medical assistants in the area hospitals.
Media
Spokane Valley is part of neighboring Spokane's television and radio markets. The city has a weekly newspaper which publishes on Fridays, the ''Valley News Herald'', which formed in 1996 with the merger of the ''Valley News'' and the ''Valley Herald''.
Infrastructure
Transportation
![SpokaneValleyWA I-90 CityLimit](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/SpokaneValleyWA_I-90_CityLimit.jpg)
Roads and highways
Due to the city's suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
an nature and its rural roots before its post World War II suburbanization
Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urba ...
, the design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...
of Spokane Valley's streets contain many curvilinear streets, discontinuous streets, cul-de-sacs
A dead end, also known as a cul-de-sac (, from French for 'bag-bottom'), no through road or no exit road, is a street with only one inlet or outlet.
The term "dead end" is understood in all varieties of English, but the official terminology ...
, and other features typical of suburbs. The major retail corridor and one of the most highly trafficked arterial road
An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector ro ...
s in the city is Sprague Avenue, which travels east–west from downtown Spokane
Downtown Spokane or Riverside is the central business district of Spokane, Washington. The Riverside neighborhood is roughly bounded by I-90 to the south, Division Street to the east, Monroe Street to the west and Boone Avenue to the north. The t ...
to Liberty Lake. Other east–west arterials for the valley include Trent Avenue, Mission Avenue, Broadway Avenue, and 32nd Avenue.[ Sprague Avenue in Spokane Valley is designated as Interstate 90 Business and Trent Avenue carries the designation of ]Washington State Route 290
State Route 290 (SR 290), named Hamilton Street and Trent Avenue, is an long State highways in Washington, state highway serving Spokane County, Washington, Spokane County in the U.S. state of Washington (U.S. state), Washington. SR& ...
, where it is routed from the Interstate 90 Hamilton interchange in Spokane northeast to the Idaho border.[ For north–south travel, the major arterial streets are Argonne/Mullan roads, Pines road, Evergreen road and Sullivan road.][ Pines Road is the northernmost portion of ]Washington State Route 27
State Route 27 (SR 27) is a state highway serving Whitman and Spokane counties, located in the eastern region of the U.S. state of Washington. The highway travels generally north from U.S. Route 195 (US 195) through Pul ...
, serving Spokane and Whitman counties and routed between Pullman and Spokane Valley where it terminates at the intersection with Trent Avenue; Washington State Route 27 is part of the Palouse Scenic Byway.[
Spokane Valley can be accessed from ]Interstate 90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
at exits 285 to 293 as it travels from its termini of Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
in the west to Boston, Massachusetts in the east, connecting Spokane, Spokane Valley, and Coeur d'Alene along its transcontinental route.[ The average commute to work is about 21 minutes.] Traffic congestion on the interstate is increasing and causing travel delays particularly during peak commute hours according to the Washington State Department of Transportation
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...
(WSDOT); starting in 2019, the WSDOT started installing ramp meter
A ramp meter, ramp signal, or metering light is a device, usually a basic traffic light or a two-section signal light (red and green only, no yellow) together with a signal controller, that regulates the flow of traffic entering freeways accordi ...
s to help reduce the congestion caused by accidents in particular, which contributed to a quarter of the congestion issues according to a study.
Public transportation
The public transportation needs for Spokane Valley as well as most of Spokane County is served by Spokane Transit Authority
Spokane Transit Authority, more commonly Spokane Transit or STA, is the public transport authority of central Spokane County, Washington, United States, serving Spokane, Washington, and its surrounding urban areas. In , the system had a ridersh ...
(STA), which maintains the Pence-Cole Valley Transit Center
Pence-Cole Valley Transit Center (also Valley Transit Center or VTC) is a transit center and former proposed site of a light rail station in the Spokane Transit Authority route system. It is one of Spokane Transit's three primary transit centers ...
(VTC) and has a few park-and-ride locations throughout the city. The STA has one regular route, and two peak use express routes that service the VTC hub. Spokane Valley has a Walk Score
Walk Score, a subsidiary of Redfin, provides walkability analysis and apartment search tools. Its flagship product is a large-scale, public access walkability index that assigns a numerical walkability score to any address in the United States, U ...
of 25, indicating it is car-dependent and a Transit Score of 25 indicating there are some public transit options.
Airports
The closest major airport serving Spokane Valley and the Spokane–Coeur d'Alene area is Spokane International Airport
Spokane International Airport is a commercial airport located approximately west-southwest of downtown Spokane, Washington, United States. It is the primary airport serving the Inland Northwest, which consists of 30 counties and includes areas ...
, which is served by six airlines and is to the west in Spokane. Felts Field
Felts Field is a public airport in the northwest United States, located northeast of downtown Spokane, in Spokane County, Washington. It is owned by Spokane City-County.
The airport has two parallel runways. Now used for general aviation, Felt ...
is a general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
airport located near Spokane Valley along the south bank of the Spokane River; the Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
categorizes it as a regional reliever facility.
Healthcare
Spokane Valley is served by one general hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...
, the 123-bed MultiCare Valley Hospital as well as specialty and urgent care clinics operated by the MultiCare Health System
MultiCare Health System is a not-for-profit American health care organization based in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, ...
, Providence Health & Services
Providence Health & Services (since 2016: Providence St. Joseph Health) is a not-for-profit, Catholic health care system operating multiple hospitals across seven states, with headquarters in Renton, Washington. The health system includes 51 ho ...
, and the Community Health Association of Spokane (CHAS Health), a non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center
A Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) is a reimbursement designation from the Bureau of Primary Health Care and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. This designation is si ...
that primarily serves the needs of the uninsured with medical, dental, pharmacy, and behavioral health services. Ambulance service in Spokane County is contracted to American Medical Response
American Medical Response, Inc. (AMR) is a medical transportation company in the United States that provides and manages community-based medical transportation services, including emergency (911), non-emergency and managed transportation, rotary ...
(as of 2021).
Utilities
Electric service in Spokane Valley is provided by a variety of providers, including Avista Utilities
Avista Corporation is an American energy company which generates and transmits electricity and distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Approximately 1,550 employees provide electricity, natural gas, and other ...
, Inland Power & Light, Modern Electric Water Company, and Vera Water & Power. Water service is also provided by a patchwork of different providers, including the City of Spokane Water Department, Modern Electric Water Company, and various water district A water district is a special district given the task of supplying water and sewer needs to a community. This term is commonly used in the United States.
See also
* Irrigation district In the United States an irrigation district is a cooperative ...
s.[ This is due to the rural beginnings of the neighborhoods that now make up the city of Spokane Valley and a legacy of the providers that came into operation to meet the needs of the agricultural consumers that predated the suburbanization of the area. The city draws its water supply from the ]Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer
The Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer is an aquifer in the northwest United States, located in eastern Washington and northern Idaho.
The aquifer is centralized under Spokane Valley and the Rathdrum Prairie, hence the name; it cont ...
. For sewer service, Spokane County Environmental Services is the sole provider and Avista Utilities is the sole provider for natural gas.[ The valley is serviced by Xfinity Comcast and ]Centurylink
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink) is an American
telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, that offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services. The company is ...
and some smaller telecom providers for cable TV and residential internet.[
]
Public safety
Police department
The Spokane Valley Police Department (SVPD) is a contracted division of the Spokane County Sheriff's Office, with Spokane Valley being the largest city the sheriff's office serves. Deputies assigned to the Spokane Valley Precinct use distinct patrol vehicles and have distinct uniforms and patches. The SVPD has is an accredited member of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.
Fire department
The Spokane Valley Fire Department
The Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) is a department in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington that provides fire protection, rescue services, emergency medical assistance, and hazardous materials responses in Spokane Valley (inclu ...
(SVFD) is a special-purpose fire district that has served the greater Spokane Valley area since 1940. The Department was originally formed as the Spokane Valley Fire Protection District No. 1, though they had unofficially been referred to as the "Spokane Valley Fire Department" or "Valley Fire Department" since the 1940s. SVFD officially adopted their present name in 2007. The SVFD provides emergency services to the cities of Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Millwood, and nearby areas of unincorporated Spokane County such as Otis Orchards and Pasadena Park.
References
Further reading
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External links
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Spokane Community Indicators
{{Authority control
Cities in Washington (state)
Cities in Spokane County, Washington
Populated places established in 2003
2003 establishments in Washington (state)