Lane changes

MATTAWA — Speed limits will be lowered to 25 miles per hour on Road 24 SW from the roundabout at State Route 281 to Pat-Chee Drive, and no parking will be allowed on sections of Boundary Road and Riverview Avenue. Mattawa City Council members approved the changes after extensive discussion at the regular meeting June 1.

Municipal Public Works Director Juan Ledezma said the goal is to improve visibility for drivers, and to make it safer for pedestrians, especially children during the school year.

“What we’re trying to get at is improving the safety aspect on Pat Chee and Blanca (Court), Especially as new development opens up there,” he said.

Blanca Court and Pat Chee Drive provide access to the Casa de Maria Zavala Apartments, built in 2021. Ledezma said city officials also wanted a no-parking zone inside the apartment complex where buses from the Wahluke School District pick up and drop off children.

“So making a bus lane is what you want to do,” said council member Tony Acosta.

“A bus lane or it can be an emergency lane,” Ledezma said.

It can be difficult to see children walking to and from the bus at the apartments, or to and from school on Riverview Avenue and Boundary Road, especially when they’re walking out from between parked cars, Ledezma said.

“The way the cars park it’s hard to see. If you’re not paying attention you won’t see the stop sign and you won’t see a little kid darting out between the parked cars,” said council member Wendy Lopez.

Even careful drivers can miss seeing people walking out between cars, she said.

The no-parking zones on Boundary Road and Riverview Avenue will extend to their intersections with Hoose Street. Acosta said he wasn’t sure about restrictions on Riverview, since that provides parking for the Columbia Basin Health Association’s clinic. The parking prohibition will remove 10 to 15 parking spaces, he said.

Ledezma said there is an alternative.

“There is a city right-of-way that they could improve, similar to what they have on Government (Road). They could improve the Hoose side of the street and make off-street parking for employees,” Ledezma said.

Council member Sun Hwang said he agreed the no-parking zones are needed, but that he was concerned about dropping the speed limit. Part of Road 24 SW is in the city limits, but part of it is in the unincorporated area of Grant County, and Hwang said the speed limit is 50 mph on the county road. That’s a big change, he said, and he didn’t know if drivers would be able to slow down quickly enough. Ledezma said the city does have a sign warning of the speed limit change and could add more if necessary.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.