Division Street (Spokane, Washington)

Division was widened through North Spokane from four to six lanes (three in each direction) in the 1990s.[9]

Division Street has remained largely unchanged between the 1990s and 2020s. However, with the expected opening of the North Spokane Corridor toward the end of the decade, it is expected that much of Spokane's north-south traffic will shift over to the freeway. The anticipated drop in traffic along North Division is expected to provide opportunities for the street to be transformed. In 2020, local government and transportation planning agencies launched a two-year long study to explore potential evolutions to Division including implementing rapid transit, making the street more multi-modal to better accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as land-use zoning changes that would increase density and bring residential development to the historically low density commercial corridor.[10]

South Division spans approximately 2.4 miles (3.9 km) (including non-contiguous sections), beginning in the residential Comstock neighborhood[13] on Spokane's South Hill at its intersection with Manito Boulevard.[14] The road runs across the South Hill, northward toward Downtown Spokane, as a small, two-way residential side street. Due to the residential nature of South Division and the topography of the South Hill, the street is broken into several non-contiguous segments.[15] Division runs north for about 10 blocks before being interrupted for approximately 8 blocks by Manito Park and Botanical Gardens. The road picks up again on the north side of the park and continues for 6 blocks where it is interrupted by Grand Boulevard and other roadways that descend the steep, north-facing slope of the South Hill. After 5 blocks, South Division picks up alongside Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital, continuing down the South Hill where it has an interchange with Interstate 90, passing underneath the freeway which runs as a raised viaduct through Downtown Spokane.

At this point, South Division enters Downtown Spokane and undergoes a number of changes. First, it is at the interchange with Interstate 90 that Division Street picks up its U.S. 395 and U.S. 2 designations that previously ran concurrently with the freeway. Division also widens into an arterial road at this point and converts to one-way road running northbound, operating as part of a couplet with the parallel Browne Street handling the southbound traffic one block to the west. This couplet continues northward for several blocks, passing underneath the BNSF Railway viaduct, where it intersects with Sprague Avenue and Division's prefix switches to North, becoming North Division.

North Division is approximately 9 miles (14 km) long and begins in Downtown Spokane at its intersection with Sprague Avenue, continuing northward through Spokane as a major arterial roadway, all the way to its northern terminus. The arterial runs at no less than three lanes in each direction[9] for the majority of the rest of its run within city limits.

The initial section of North Division begins to pass through Spokane's University District, passing by Washington State University Spokane.[16] Its routing continues South Division's one-way traffic couplet with the parallel Browne Street for a few more blocks until the two streets converge back into a two-way street at Spokane Falls Boulevard, located on the south landing of the Division Street Bridge, adjacent to the Spokane Convention Center. This intersection with Spokane Falls also provides a connection from Division to nearby SR 290 (Trent Avenue) that runs just to the east.

From Spokane Falls Boulevard, Division crosses the Spokane River via the Division Street Bridge, passing over the eastern extents of Riverfront Park and also providing access to the recreational Spokane River Centennial Trail that runs alongside the river beneath the bridge. After crossing the river, North Division splits up again into a one-way couplet, with Division taking southbound traffic and parallel North Ruby Street taking northbound traffic one block to the east. This couplet continues for about 1.5 miles (2.4 km), with four travel lanes per direction, passing through the rest of the University District, Gonzaga University,[16] and the Emerson/Garfield and Logan neighborhoods.[13]

Division and Ruby Street converge back into a single two-way street again, just north of its intersection with N Foothills Drive and Buckeye Ave, continuing its run with three lanes in each direction. From there, Division ascends[9] a gradual 0.75 miles (1.21 km) long hill for about 100 feet of elevation gain, entering the North Hill and Nevada Heights neighborhoods.[13] While the entire length of North Division is flanked on both sides by commercial activity, this section of road between the vicinity of Buckeye Avenue and Garland Avenue is home to many local small businesses that draw customers from the Inland Northwest region and range from automobile shops, to Asian restaurants, jewelry stores, gardening shops, and clothing stores.[9]

After ascending the North Division Street hill, Division continues in its 6-lane configuration for several miles toward the Shiloh Hills neighborhood.[13] This particular stretch includes many of Spokane's more prominent strip malls, fast food, restaurants, big-box stores, and shopping centers, including NorthTown Mall between its intersections with Wellesley Avenue and Queen Avenue, and Franklin Park Commons between its intersections with Rowan Avenue and Central Avenue. Two major Spokane parks, B.A. Clark Park, and Franklin Park, as well as Holy Family Hospital are located along this section of North Division. Within this stretch, North Division also intersects with SR 291 (Francis Avenue).[15]

About 0.3 miles (0.48 km) before its intersection with Lincoln Road, North Division's speed limit increases from 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) to 45 miles per hour (72 km/h), despite maintaining its commercial nature. After Lincoln Road, Division encounters another hill, this time descending down about 100 feet in elevation toward its intersection with Newport Highway. This intersection with Newport Highway is where the U.S. 2 designation that Division shares with U.S. 395 branches off toward Mead and Newport in a northeasterly direction. Because the shape that this intersection creates bears a strong resemblance to the English letter Y, as seen on a map, the intersection and immediate surrounding area is referred to locally as the "North Division Y", or more commonly "The Y", and is often used by locals as a navigational landmark.

Just after "The Y", North Division leaves City of Spokane's boundaries and continues to run north through developed suburban areas of unincorporated Spokane County. At this point, the roadway also reduces down to two travel lanes in each direction and passes by Whitworth University at Hawthorne Road. After Hawthorne Road, North Division's speed limit increases to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) as it drops about 160 feet in elevation down another gradual hill toward Hastings Road in the Wandermere shopping area. About 0.75 miles (1.21 km) north of Hastings Road is Division's northern terminus at the North Spokane Corridor. Division Street transitions seamlessly into a divided, limited-access highway that keeps its U.S. Route 395 designation, but drops the Division Street name. US 395 continues into exurban and rural areas of Spokane County, eventually passing by Deer Park, Washington on its way to the Canada–United States border.