Press Release
Public Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

City of Ellensburg Continues Work towards Complete Streets Ethics

Kittitas County, WA - 05/08/2017 - On May 1, the City of Ellensburg began work on the 7th Avenue Bike Boulevard Project, which is part of a proposed route that will run from Wenas Street to Alder Street with the majority of the boulevard running along 7th Avenue.

Bicycle boulevards, according to the National Association of City Transportation Officials, are streets with low motorized traffic volumes and speeds, designated and designed to give bicycle travel priority.  The City of Ellensburg will use traffic calming devices in order to provide priority to bicyclists traveling east to west on the route.  Traffic calming devices (examples include narrowed roads or speed bumps) are used to reduce traffic volume and to slow vehicle speeds, in order to increase safety for bicyclists.
 
Bicycle boulevards or bike lanes are examples of complete streets.  The concept of complete streets is to create an infrastructure that allows everyone safe access whether they are walking, biking, or riding/driving in an automobile.  The idea of complete streets is the intention to ensure access for all ages and abilities. 
 
“The City of Ellensburg has shown that the concept of complete streets is a priority, which is why we nominated the City for the complete streets funding award from the Transportation Improvement Board,” asserts Kasey Knutson of the Kittitas County Public Health Department.  On January 27, the City of Ellensburg was selected for the Complete Streets Award from the Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) and was awarded $250,000 in funds to construct “complete street” projects in Ellensburg.
 
The projects slated for the TIB funds are projected to begin in August or September of this year and include sidewalk connections on Helena Street, Willow, and on Idaho Street, in order to provide more “walkable” sidewalk connects within the city limits.
 
For more information about Ellensburg’s Complete Streets visit https://ci.ellensburg.wa.us/787/Complete-Streets-Ellensburg or for information about the TIB funding, visit http://www.tib.wa.gov/grants/completestreets/completestreets.cfm.  To get more information about how the Kittitas County Public Health Department has worked with complete streets, please call (509) 962-7515.
 

• City of Ellensburg Continues Work towards Complete Streets Ethics

Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us

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Contact: Kasey Knutson, Public Information Officer, 509-962-7515

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