Chelan County Proposes Multimodal Pathway Plan

Chelan County's proposed Multimodal Pathway Plan gains traction as they brainstorm new routes that could connect neighboring communities to Chelan, Leavenworth, Cashmere, and Wenatchee.

On Feb. 9, Chelan County Natural Resources Director Mike Kaputa presented to the Chelan County Transportation Council a powerpoint presentation that illustrated constructed pathways that would connect Manson to Chelan, Monitor to Cashmere, and Malaga to Wenatchee.

Public discussion started on Dec. 16, 2020, with over 1,500 responses from their feedback survey collected last spring. Many of the respondents had an opportunity to draw their own desired pathways between towns, which is what Kaputa later demonstrated to the council.

"People could actually draw like on a map where they thought a pathway could go, and so it was pretty cool because we just haven't had that kind of tool before," Kaputa said.

Pathway corridors that Kaputa and his team have been focusing on include those surrounding Leavenworth to Lake Wenatchee West areas, Leavenworth to Lake Wenatchee East areas, Icicle and Leavenworth Roads, Leavenworth to Wenatchee, South of Wenatchee, Wenatchee to Lake Chelan, and the shores of Lake Chelan.

The presentation also addressed multiple pathway options for Cashmere, which include widening the sidewalk on the Cottage Ave. Bridge, extending Riverside Trail and cross over to Old Monitor Road, a shared use trail for US Hwy. 2, or a new road crossing through the middle of Cashmere parallel to the railroad and the river.

For the Chelan corridor, residents wish to see continued construction of the SR 150 pathway to Manson, with some consideration for other options due to limiting geographical factors.

The next step includes looking for more funding sources for the plan and to work out the designs for these routes. Kaputa hopes that the Transportation Council will help assist them alongside their Steering Committee.

So far, the project has received a total of $100k in funding, with $50k coming from Chelan County, $20k from the Port Authority, and approximately $2-5k from each city involved in the pathway project, which include Cashmere, Chelan, Entiat, Wenatchee, and Leavenworth.

"We're looking at the infrastructure bill and some other policy and state-funding sources to help move that work forward."

Road options included additional bike lanes and sidewalks, separated shared use paths, paved shoulders, or a shared roadway. These options would include micro-mobility vehicle access alongside wheelchair and stroller access.

The majority of respondents stated that they would use the pathways for exercise and recreation, with the second option used for commute.