Will Easton/Cle Elum ever be a suburb of Seattle/Bellevue? (Spokane: how much, hotel)

[PS90]

I'm not pretending to know anything about it, because I don't, but hasn't there been proposals for that kind of high-speed rail for decades? I don't think it has ever penciled-out financially.

There are a fair number of people who live in Easton/Suncadia/Cle Elum/Teanaway who make that commute, but it is still a very small proportion of the population of those areas.

[pnwguy2]

There have been concepts for this, one of the more "creative" ones was turning the Moses Lake Airport into a major hub and running high speed rail to Seattle. It was actually an official option with the Port of Seattle, circa 1990. That one died for exactly the reason you mentioned...too expensive.

[rjryen]

I do not think of Cle Elum as a "bedroom" community, and resent the implication of arrogance on those who think in these terms. So please, get over yourselves, it is insulting to the community, and it has caused resentment. If you choose to go there, don't try to make it in to Seattle! That is precisely what some try to do, and then wonder why the community turns up its nose.

Light rail is a great idea, but I don't know if the cost is warranted at this time, and a previous commentator suggested Ellensburg, as the main station. I would say in the future yes, not warranted yet.

Weather is daunting in the winter with its gray skies, cold temps, snow, hail, and just freezing. Driving, with long lines on the pass, avalanche, and uncontrollable weather is a deterrent.

It really depends on how long someone wants to be away from home for a job.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by PS90

I'm not pretending to know anything about it, because I don't, but hasn't there been proposals for that kind of high-speed rail for decades? I don't think it has ever penciled-out financially.

I think it could be feasible, if the current political gridlock is resolved, with significant money becoming available for new infrastructure. One virtue of high-speed rail is that it can leap-frog sprawl, rather than merely extending it, enabling the development of residential/job satellites in Ellensburg, Yakima, and Tri-Cities that would be directly connected to Seattle-Bellevue. I don't see a stop at Cle Elum, however (although North Bend, on the "wetside", could be possible) .

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

I think it could be feasible, if the current political gridlock is resolved, with significant money becoming available for new infrastructure. One virtue of high-speed rail is that it can leap-frog sprawl, rather than merely extending it, enabling the development of residential/job satellites in Ellensburg, Yakima, and Tri-Cities that would be directly connected to Seattle-Bellevue. I don't see a stop at Cle Elum, however (although North Bend, on the "wetside", could be possible) .

There's only 1800 people in Cle Elum, a stop would seem unlikely. We have had contractors that drove from Easton. Seems like a long drive but they must have felt it was worth it.

[509]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

I think it already is, there are many people living in CleElum commuting to the eastside, mainly to Microsoft Sammamish which is actually in Issaquah, Siemens, and Spacelabs, but also some working in Bellevue in the I90 corridor.
This from a realtor we were talking to about property there a couple of years ago.

PNWGUY2....our realtor estimates that 30% of the homes she has sold in the past two decades in Wenatchee were to people working "elsewhere" officially. That number is pretty hard to track down since there are no economic statistics that track it. But it is much higher than most people think.

There were lots of people commuting from Ellensburg and Cle Elum way back in the mid-1990's. They always met in the Safeway parking lot to ride share in those days. I suspect if you find the ride share site today it would give you a clue as to the number of commuters doing it currently.

I talked to one person and he said it was quicker for him to get to work from Cle Elum to Bellevue than it was from Bellevue to Seattle. I don't know if that is true.

The six lanes project of I-90 will just destroy the environment in Kittitas County. I was shocked and disappointed when the Sierra Club supported the expansion of the interstate. The Sierra Club supporting a INTERSTATE.....wow!

[noah]

Maybe a long way off, but like a lot of things the landscape gets in the way. Seattle population wise still has a long ways to go to catch up to the big cities, it will take another 2 million residents in the metro before Seattle cracks the top 10 largest U.S. cities. Don't forget as you go east into the cascades, huge swaths of the land is public land, not available for development.

[pnwguy2]

Originally Posted by 509

PNWGUY2....our realtor estimates that 30% of the homes she has sold in the past two decades in Wenatchee were to people working "elsewhere" officially. That number is pretty hard to track down since there are no economic statistics that track it. But it is much higher than most people think.

There were lots of people commuting from Ellensburg and Cle Elum way back in the mid-1990's. They always met in the Safeway parking lot to ride share in those days. I suspect if you find the ride share site today it would give you a clue as to the number of commuters doing it currently.

I talked to one person and he said it was quicker for him to get to work from Cle Elum to Bellevue than it was from Bellevue to Seattle. I don't know if that is true.

The six lanes project of I-90 will just destroy the environment in Kittitas County. I was shocked and disappointed when the Sierra Club supported the expansion of the interstate. The Sierra Club supporting a INTERSTATE.....wow!

Which stretch of I-90 are you referring to? The highway is currently being rebuilt to a six lane configuration from just east of Hyak to about MP 62. I believe The Sierra Club supported this as the new construction calls for animal under and overpasses, and with other environmental features. WSDOT has an extensive look at this project on their website.

Phase II of the project is planned from around MP 62 to MP 71 near Easton. I don't know if it has been funded yet. This portion likely will not be completed until well past 2020.

[509]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

Which stretch of I-90 are you referring to? The highway is currently being rebuilt to a six lane configuration from just east of Hyak to about MP 62. I believe The Sierra Club supported this as the new construction calls for animal under and overpasses, and with other environmental features. WSDOT has an extensive look at this project on their website.

Phase II of the project is planned from around MP 62 to MP 71 near Easton. I don't know if it has been funded yet. This portion likely will not be completed until well past 2020.

Yep, know all about the animal under and overpasses....I was responsible for getting the Adaptive Management Area EIS out the door. At first, WSDOT tried to get around the environmental restrictions at first, but realized it was easier and cheaper to just build them.

My concern and issue with the Sierra Club.....was if we convert Kittitas County to suburbs what's the point of having the corridors for wildlife. Also there is really a need for a corridor in lower Kittitas County outside of the Forest Service managed lands.

The other issue is I-90 is a killing ground for spotted owls. I could not get ANYBODY to even consider lower the speed limit through that area so we would quit killing spotted owls through vehicle collisions. There are things in America that are more important than saving species....the speed limit on interstates.

Interstates are also MAJOR killing grounds for large carnivores. The discussion is slowly starting, but I am not sure about how effective those animal under and overpasses are at preventing collisions with animals. At the time I retired the science was mixed at best. The wildlife biologists thought that could be improved.

I don't know the state of the science on this issue these days.

[pnwguy2]

Originally Posted by 509

Yep, know all about the animal under and overpasses....I was responsible for getting the Adaptive Management Area EIS out the door. At first, WSDOT tried to get around the environmental restrictions at first, but realized it was easier and cheaper to just build them.

My concern and issue with the Sierra Club.....was if we convert Kittitas County to suburbs what's the point of having the corridors for wildlife. Also there is really a need for a corridor in lower Kittitas County outside of the Forest Service managed lands.

The other issue is I-90 is a killing ground for spotted owls. I could not get ANYBODY to even consider lower the speed limit through that area so we would quit killing spotted owls through vehicle collisions. There are things in America that are more important than saving species....the speed limit on interstates.

Interstates are also MAJOR killing grounds for large carnivores. The discussion is slowly starting, but I am not sure about how effective those animal under and overpasses are at preventing collisions with animals. At the time I retired the science was mixed at best. The wildlife biologists thought that could be improved.

I don't know the state of the science on this issue these days.

Fair enough. I understand your concerns. I also understand that a State that is now over 7 million in population, and quickly headed for 8 million, needs expanded roads. Not expanding would not prevent growth, only promote more serious traffic problems, needlessly causing more pollution and frustration.

Incidently, I drove WB on the 90 Saturday around midday, and saw an accident and resultant 9-mile backup EB at south Lake Keechelus. This was in the construction zone, granted, but still think of all that pollution of cars idling for hours.