Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners press planners to prioritize safe crossings over Highway 2 in transportation update
Summary
At a May 6 Planning Commission meeting, consultants presented a new multimodal transportation element; commissioners urged the city to prioritize pedestrian and bicycle safety across Highway 2/US‑2, to add near‑term crossing projects to the six‑year TIP and to fix sidewalk/park access maps that understate barriers.
Consultants from BHC presented Leavenworth’s draft transportation element on May 6, describing new Growth Management Act (GMA) requirements such as a multimodal level of service (LOS), 10‑year traffic forecasting and separate targets for vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian LOS. Christina (BHC) noted the element includes a six‑year TIP and a 20‑year project list and that the multimodal LOS is intended as a planning goal for vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians and transit.
Much of the discussion focused on Highway 2 (US‑2) and Ski Hill Road, which several commissioners described as major physical barriers that limit safe walking and biking across town. One commissioner said the barrier affects children’s routes to parks: “I’m much more terrified about my kid biking across US‑2,” and urged that signalized or push‑button pedestrian crossings at Mil Street and Third & Speed Hill — identified as high priority in the Transportation Safety Action Plan — be reflected in the near‑term TIP rather than only in a long‑range 20‑year list.
Christina described bicycle goals using Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) and pedestrian LOS as targets (not permit‑blocking standards). Commissioners pressed for an environmental‑justice mapping step to identify disadvantaged neighborhoods for equitable transportation investment and asked the consultants to strengthen pavement‑quality standards for active users and add clearer implementation language so that public works staff and council can prioritize projects.
The board asked staff to fix a sidewalk/parks accessibility map that currently shows walksheds without accounting for barriers such as US‑2 and Ski Hill Road. Commissioners also discussed the limits of transportation demand management in a small tourist town, emphasized coordination with the regional Chalan‑Douglas transportation plan, and requested that consultants incorporate written comments before the plan moves to a public hearing.
Next steps: Consultants asked commissioners to submit written comments for incorporation by the May 27 draft deadline so the PROS/transportation materials can go to a joint hearing in early June. Staff will evaluate whether specified safety projects can be moved into the six‑year TIP or otherwise prioritized.
