La Center wins $1 million WSDOT climate grant, TIB award brings shared-use path funding to $1.5M

City staff reported Jan. 8 that La Center secured a $1,000,000 climate-commitment award from the Washington State Department of Transportation for the Pacific Highway shared-use path and that the city previously received $500,000 from the Transportation Improvement Board (TIB), bringing recently secured grant funding to $1.5 million.

Tracy Coleman told the council she had received a confirmation letter from WSDOT and said, “we were successful in receiving the climate commitment funds of $1,000,000.” She said the total capital cost for the shared-use path project is $3.48 million and that the city had sought roughly $2 million in outside funding for the project; the $1,000,000 award represents one of those funding sources. Coleman also credited local legislative support and staff efforts in securing the award.

Council members discussed interim safety measures for pedestrians at the Pacific Highway crossing, including temporary high-visibility flags or other measures until the path is constructed. Coleman said staff would look into interim recognition or signage and explore temporary safety measures while final construction is scheduled.

The funding update followed a larger community-development report that included construction counts, permitting trends and other infrastructure work. Coleman and council members noted that the project remains dependent on completing the remaining funding and on final design and permitting steps. Coleman also noted that the project had recently benefited from multiple grant rounds and staff effort despite a state-level pause on some grant programs after the election.

Council members asked staff to continue coordinating with WSDOT and report back on next steps for design, interim safety measures at the crossing and a timeline for construction.