Angled parking may come to more of downtown Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — Additional angled parking may be coming to sections of Third and Fourth avenues in Moses Lake as part of the project to resurface downtown streets.  

City engineers presented some details to the Moses Lake City Council at a May 20 workshop, including a proposal for additional angled parking. Council members must approve any angled parking changes. 

Engineers have proposed reducing West Third, West Fourth and West Fifth avenues from two lanes in each direction to one lane in each direction with a left turn lane in the middle. That would leave room for additional angled parking.  

If the council approves, angled parking would be added to one side of West Fourth Avenue, at least around the Surf ‘n Slide water park. Design Engineer Levi Bisnett referenced “the 99 days of summer,” an old radio promotion, to explain the anticipated usage of parking around the water park. 

“This is essentially our 99-day parking lot. That’s really when it sees people. I anticipate it will be beneficial through the summer months to have additional angled parking there, but we’re not going to see angled parking there (the rest) of the year,” Bisnett said. 

There was a question about angled parking on one side of West Third Avenue between Holly and Gumwood streets. Bisnett said angled parking would be more efficient on South Holly Street.  

“You essentially get more parking utilizing Holly than if you were to make a change on Third Avenue for just this section,” he said.  

Angled parking is proposed for one side of the section of Third Avenue between Dogwood and Beech streets.  

“We can accommodate angled parking there,” Bisnett said. 

Angled parking would be added from South Alder Street to South Pioneer Way along West Third Avenue.  

Total project cost will be about $1.2 million, with about $1.04 million from a state Transportation Improvement Board grant, Bisnett said. Construction is scheduled for July but is dependent on city council approval for the parking changes. 

It being summer, road projects are underway throughout the region, and while some haven’t started yet, others are closer to completion. Still others will go on throughout the entire March-November construction season. 

Drivers planning a trip to Kennewick on Monday should be prepared for the closure of one northbound lane and the Columbia Drive on-ramp near the Blue Bridge. According to a press release from the Washington Department of Transportation, crews will be repairing guardrails and signs and sweeping the roadway from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday. 

Sidewalks are being poured along Westshore Drive west of Moses Lake, part of a repaving project that’s been underway since early March. About two miles are being repaved, with sidewalks, curbs and gutters added. The project is scheduled for completion by mid-June.  

Drivers planning a cross-state trip using the Vantage Bridge probably already know the bridge is in the second year of a major, multi-year overhaul. Megan Lott, WSDOT communications manager for the south-central region, said in an earlier interview that miscommunication led to some press releases that said all four lanes on the bridge would be open during June – but they won’t. 

Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction Monday through Friday throughout the month of June. All lanes will be open on weekends.   

Two lanes will be open in each direction over the July 4 weekend, July 3 through 8. But after July 8 the construction schedule shifts, Lott said, and one lane in each direction will be closed through the end of the construction season in November. The exception will be Labor Day weekend, Aug. 28 through Sept. 2, when both lanes will be open in each direction. 

    This section of Fourth Avenue may be getting angled parking as part of a road resurfacing project scheduled to start in July.