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Regional planner: Yakima receives sidewalk and alley paving grants; safety and transit studies moving forward
Summary
Alan Adolf of Yakima Valley Council of Governments briefed the committee on recent federal grant awards supporting alley paving and sidewalk work, a $550,000 award for North Sixteenth sidewalks, progress on the Moxie Greenway extension, and region‑wide safety and transit planning efforts.
Alan Adolf, regional transportation manager at Yakima Valley Council of Governments, gave a public update during the committee’s April 9 meeting on federal and regional transportation work affecting Yakima.
Adolf said the region finalized awards for CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality) and Carbon Reduction grants. Yakima City received funding in both programs: an alley‑paving grant for Phase 3 of the city’s alley resurfacing effort and about $550,000 for the North Sixteenth sidewalks application near River Road where sidewalks are currently missing.
Adolf reported the Moxie Greenway extension has advanced: the Department of Transportation provided preliminary engineering and right‑of‑way funding and construction funding is anticipated for a portion of the corridor (University Parkway to Moyer Lane) though the full Highway 24 related construction was not confirmed. He said permitting and right‑of‑way work had caused earlier delays but that right‑of‑way activities are moving forward.
He described two regionwide planning efforts underway: a safety action plan (a Federal Highway Administration grant) that will catalog crash history and perceived safety concerns, gather stakeholder input from first responders, freight, schools and the public, and run in‑person and online engagement over the summer; and Phase 2 of a transit feasibility study that will evaluate ways to improve transit frequency, hours and coverage with existing resources and look at multimodal connectivity to trails and transit stops.
Adolf also noted participation in a statewide aviation/air service work group and ongoing advocacy for passenger rail restoration on the Stampede Pass route, both of which he said could create longer‑range opportunities to tie active‑transportation and transit planning into regional mobility decisions.
Committee members asked questions about the Ackley/Powerhouse roundabout, bridge condition at the Powerhouse crossing and whether WSDOT planned highway acceleration lanes; Adolf said bridge replacement is generally driven by inspections and that acceleration‑lane work would depend on DOT priorities and funding lists submitted during the TIP process.
Adolf said jurisdictions will be updating Transportation Improvement Programs in May–June and that jurisdictions must submit secured projects for the federal FY2026–29 TIP in that cycle; he encouraged BPAC to watch for public comment opportunities.
