Chelan City Council revisits proposal for a two-way Woodin Avenue Bridge

CHELAN – The future directions – literally - of the Woodin Avenue Bridge was the main topic of a public hearing over amendments to the city’s six-year State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) at the October 8 bi-monthly city council meeting.

Public Works Director Jake Youngren said his staff recommended the amendments following a public outreach effort to learn what residents want included as transportation improvements in their city.

The Council adopts a STIP every year as a statutory requirement. Regardless of whether there is money in the budget to complete the projects the STIP provides a prioritized framework necessary to qualify for external grant and funding opportunities.

The city’s 2025-2030 STIP was adopted on June 11, 2024. An open house held on Sept. 12 solicited public comment on the plan. Those results, combined with a community survey, were presented later in the month. The city is proposing to amend its STIP to reflect public outreach that included 591 residents of the Chelan Valley who completed the survey. 

“Many respondents advocated for restoring Woodin Avenue Bridge to two-way traffic,” Youngren said. 

Other suggestions include:

• Better walking and biking paths, specifically along the south shore and between Chelan and Manson, for pedestrian safety.
• Dedicated parking areas.
• Improving intersections.
• Enhancing public transportation options.
• Reducing traffic bottlenecks.
• Increasing safety by providing better infrastructure for both residents and tourists.

Youngren said responses from residents from outside the city limits ranked a list of priorities as follows:

1. Easing traffic congestion
2. Enhancing pedestrian safety and walkability
3. Emergency evacuation routes
4. Safer access to schools
5. Improved accessibility for the aging population
6. Preservation of existing pavement surfaces
7. Creating new walking and biking pathways
8. Beautifying streets

Based on cumulative public feedback, the public works staff proposed STIP amendments to include:

• Neighborhood Sidewalk Expansion Initiative (enhancing pedestrian safety) to enhance and expand sidewalk infrastructure in needed areas to promote safe pedestrian routes.
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance Improvement Project (improving accessibility) to address deficiencies that have been identified in the City's ADA Transition Plan.
• Woodin Avenue Bridge conversion to two-way (easing traffic congestion) of the existing bridge to accommodate two-way vehicular traffic with sidewalks on both sides.
• Woodin Avenue Bridge directional change (easing traffic congestion) to reverse the direction of traffic on the Woodin Avenue Bridge from coming into the city to heading out of the city.
• Lakeside Park access and parking analysis (easing traffic congestion) to identify opportunities for additional parking and safe access alternatives for the lakeside community and park.
• Regional transportation plan (emergency evacuation routes) conducted by the Metropolitan Planning Organization/Chelan Douglas Transportation Council to provide a data-driven regional plan across jurisdictions to improve transportation in the valley.

“We do not have a dedicated funding mechanism for these projects,” Youngren reminded the council. “If the TBD (Transportation Benefit District) ballot measure does pass, there will be an additional effort to rank and prioritize the projects the city would like to execute.”

The TBD measure for a .03 percent sales tax to fund city transportation projects is included on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.

The Woodin Avenue Bridge amendments won the Miss Popularity vote among councilmembers for most comments.

Councilmember Bob Goedde supports the two-way revision and cited his recollections of vehicle and pedestrian flows to support it. 

“This isn’t a city problem, this county and state,” said Goedde. “Everybody that comes in from the North Shore has to fight the traffic problem…sixty seconds it takes to escape downtown Chelan is worth the effort.”

Councilmember Tim Hollingsworth wants more clarity between what he sees as conflicting proposals for a two-way bridge and reversing bridge direction together with pedestrian alternatives. He favors a cost-benefit analysis of how changes to Woodin would affect other city intersections.

“Before we commit to a specific proposal on our STIP I want us to fully understand the costs,” said Hollingsworth. “We have limited resources and a lot of traffic needs to address.”

Councilmember Shari Deitrich inquired about the potential for additional grant funding that could help pay for a Woodin project.

Councilmember Mark Ericks asked about the city’s required match for a grant of that size.

Youngren said the city match range can be from five percent for state grants to 15-25 percent for federal.

“One hurdle we have encountered looking at large projects is even being able to fund the match,” Youngren said. 

At the conclusion of the hearing, it was decided to pursue a deeper analysis of a two-way bridge proposal for a possible advisory vote of the public down the road.

Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media