Members of the Lewis County Board of Commissioners and Centralia City Council preferred this option for Borst Avenue rehab presented by SCJ Alliance during a workshop meeting in early April.
Representatives from the city of Centralia, Lewis County and the Centralia School District expressed optimism at a workshop Tuesday that a revamped Borst Avenue could soon lead to the rebuilt Centralia High School approved by voters last year.
Members of the Centralia City Council and Lewis County Board of Commissioners and their staffs met Tuesday evening to review four options for redesigning Borst Avenue with sidewalks. The options were presented by consultant SCJ Alliance.
Stakeholders present all preferred options with wide, multi-purpose sidewalks and planters to both beautify the area and handle stormwater.
“The future is this,” said Centralia City Councilor Max Vogt. “People who want to come here will seek this out.”
Councilors spoke in favor of having a functional road and sidewalk that was also visually appealing — a major change for the road.
“It’s been the ugliest road in town for about 50 years,” City Councilor John Elmore said.
Brandon Johnson, of SCJ Alliance, presented four options for the road during the workshop Tuesday evening at Centralia City Hall.
Option 1 presents “essentially Borst Avenue as it is today,” Johnson said.
While the roadway stays much the same, this option would add a 10-foot “greenway,” a wide sidewalk for both walkers and bicyclists, and a three-foot wide planted area, which would also handle stormwater.
The option falls within the existing city right-of-way, and would qualify for state Transportation Improvement Board grants, Johnson said.
The county and city plan to apply this year for a TIB grant for the project.
Option 2 is the most conventional, as it follows the city’s current standard for collector streets, Johnson said, meaning it includes two 12-foot drive lanes, two six-foot wide bike lanes and two 5-foot wide sidewalks. This option would make the street look just like others in the city, and would include no green space.
“It’s going to be the most expensive option because it’s got the most asphalt,” Johnson said.
Another major drawback, Johnson said, is it does not fit inside the city’s current right of way.
The city of Centralia and Lewis County have been discussing the possibility of sidewalks on Borst Avenue for years, but have consistently come across roadblocks. The most recent effort to add sidewalks was spurred by Centralia High School student groups who were concerned about student safety. Many students walk to school along Borst Avenue, despite its lack of sidewalks.
“This is a project that’s been contemplated for a long, long, long time and the history I’ve heard is maybe all the way back to when the high school was built,” said Eric Martin, public works director for Lewis County.
The project is complicated because part of the road is in the city’s jurisdiction and part is in the county’s. Also, the road is narrow, with as little as 40-feet of right of way beyond the road in some areas, making it impossible to add sidewalks without buying additional land from property owners along the road to widen the right of way in conventional city street designs.
Option 3 includes two 12-foot driving lanes, a parking lane and a six-foot wide sidewalk on one side of the street. It would not require the purchase of additional right-of-way space and does not include a planted area.
Johnson noted that the planted areas will serve as stormwater management, reducing the need for extra stormwater improvements. Borst Avenue does not currently have a stormwater drainage system, meaning any project done will have to add that capability.
He estimated a planted area along the road would save from $100,000 to to $250,000 on stormwater management, but would need to be maintained.
Option 4 is the “most aggressive option,” Johnson said, and involves cutting Borst Avenue down to one lane heading toward the high school, and includes on-street parking, a large shared greenway and planted area.
SCJ also presented two options for making Mt. Vista road the corresponding one-way street to funnel traffic to and from the high school.
“If I could wave my magic wand and make it all happen … I would go with option 4 in a heartbeat,” Centralia High School Principal Josue Lowe said.
However, others cautioned that it would be difficult to get funding for both Borst and Mt. Vista projects at the same time.
“We do need to hopefully get some support for some of these options quickly because our next step in the project is to do some public outreach,” Martin said.
Overall, commissioners, councilors and staff at the workshop preferred elements from option 1, but also expressed interest in exploring the one-way Borst Avenue option.
Centralia City Councilor Peter Abbarno asked that the final design include some on-street parking, which is not included in option 1. Johnson noted that some areas along Borst Avenue have a larger right-of-way, and could accommodate on-street parking with option 1.
Martin said city and county staff hope to schedule a public meeting to present the finished rendering of the design to the public in May. He said staff does not currently have an estimate on the project’s cost, but hope to submit a grant proposal to the TIB in August.
