Chelan revises transportation plan, drops Lakeside traffic study

CHELAN — A proposed update to Chelan's six-year transportation improvement program would remove a planned analysis of traffic and parking issues near Lakeside Park while adding a new corridor study along Highway 97A and state Route 150, prompting questions from a Lakeside resident during a June 2 public hearing.

The Chelan City Council reviewed the proposed 2027-2032 Transportation Improvement Program during its workshop meeting June 2. State law requires cities to annually adopt a six-year transportation plan identifying projects that may seek future state and federal funding.

Public Works Director Jake Youngren told council the updated plan includes several changes from the current program. Among them are a new Highway 97A/SR 150 Corridor Improvement Program, the consolidation of pedestrian and ADA projects into a single initiative, the addition of an annual curb replacement program and the removal of the Lakeside Park Access and Parking Analysis.

The proposal also removes a previously listed one-way Woodin Avenue Bridge alternative, leaving only a future two-way conversion project in the plan. The North Shore Trail project has been divided into two phases, and a separate Woodin Avenue traffic-calming project has been folded into a broader corridor improvement effort.

The only public comment during the hearing came from Tammy Hague of Friends of Lakeside, who questioned the decision to remove the Lakeside analysis.

Hague said the group originally became involved because of traffic congestion and parking challenges near Lakeside Park and argued those concerns remain unresolved.

"We have a traffic issue problem in Lakeside. We have parking issues at Lakeside Park," Hague told council. "How is the city addressing that by removing the analysis?"

Hague also pointed to continued growth in tourism activity, short-term rentals and proposed bed-and-breakfast uses in the area, saying those trends could increase pressure on neighborhood streets and parking availability.

Youngren later told council the Lakeside analysis had been added in response to community concerns about parking and traffic conditions near the park. Since then, he said, the city has implemented other measures and observed changes in the area, leading staff to conclude the stand-alone study was no longer necessary as part of the transportation improvement program.

"I'm not saying the problem's gone," Youngren said, noting that traffic and parking concerns could still be addressed through other means if needed.

Council members spent much of their discussion focused on several of the plan's larger transportation projects, including future improvements along the Highway 97A/SR 150 corridor and the long-term concept of returning the Woodin Avenue Bridge to two-way traffic.

According to the proposed plan, the new corridor improvement program would evaluate traffic operations, safety concerns and potential intersection improvements along key routes through Chelan. The project area includes portions of Highway 97A and SR 150, as well as intersections at Johnson Avenue, Columbia Street, Sanders Street and Woodin Avenue.

Youngren emphasized that the Transportation Improvement Program serves as a planning document rather than authorization to begin construction. Projects included in the plan remain subject to future design work, funding availability and separate council approvals.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media