The North Bend City Council opened a public hearing May 20 on the city’s six-year Transportation Improvement Plan covering 2026 through 2031 and unanimously approved it as a first reading while continuing the public hearing until the June 17 council meeting.

City transportation staff described the TIP as a statutory planning tool. “The 6 year TIP is a state requirement that’s codified in RCW 35.77 0.01. We have to update it each and every year,” said Mister DeBerg, the staff presenter, explaining the council was opening the hearing and would act on the plan next month.

The TIP lists active and planned projects and is used to time projects, coordinate with other agencies, and meet grant eligibility requirements, DeBerg said. Staff noted the plan extends beyond the statutory six years for longer-term planning and to allow better alignment of projects.

Changes from last year include moving the Cedar Falls Way pedestrian improvements from priority 17 to priority 4, moving the Park and Main intersection improvements from 12 to 8, and adding a 2026 sidewalk gaps project with locations to be identified later. DeBerg told council there are ten active transportation projects currently in design or construction listed in the agenda bill.

During the public hearing, resident George Anderson urged better bicycle and pedestrian connections between the Tenant Trailhead and the Snoqualmie Valley Trail and described a short, unsafe sidewalk span and a short bike-path segment on North Bend Way: “The bridge over the South Fork, the sidewalk there is extremely short, and then there’s that one small area that’s marked as a bike path that only goes for about a hundred feet and stops for no apparent reason,” Anderson said.

Council member Heather Cohen moved to adopt AB 25-046 as a first reading and to continue the public hearing to June 17, 2025; Susan Torgerson seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

The hearing record will remain open until the June 17 meeting, when council is scheduled to consider final adoption of the TIP. Residents who want to comment may appear at that meeting or follow the city’s public comment procedures.