Community input needed for Soap Lake downtown

SOAP LAKE - The City of Soap Lake is hosting a public workshop Saturday to receive input on the future design of downtown.

The $1.5 million redevelopment plans for Main Avenue includes repaving downtown streets, constructing new sidewalks and pedestrian offerings, and changing a portion of the downtown to a one-way street.

The city, as well as the Rural Communities Design Initiative of the Washington State University School of Design and Construction, are seeking input for streetscape elements for the project, including landscape features, pedestrian offerings, safety, signs and wayfinding, and bike and trail identification.

The project was previously planned to begin in June but a severely damaged sewer system pushed back the timeline, according to previous information from Mayor Raymond Gravelle.

The city has received a $660,000 federal loan to replace the sewer lines, a project that needs to be completed before beginning the redevelopment project, which is funded by $1.5 million in grants from the Transportation Improvement Board.

The workshop is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Soap Lake City Hall at 239 Second Ave SE. Soap Lake residents, business owner and organization leaders are invited to attend.

Light refreshments will be provided in the morning.