Centralians Have Their Say at Streetscape Open House

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A healthy turnout of community stakeholders alternately panned and praised city efforts to enhance pedestrian safety and streamline traffic flow into Centralia’s historic downtown at a Sept. 25 open house.

Representatives from the City of Centralia’s public works department and a civil engineering firm invited residents to ask questions on a recently approved design and construction initiative known as the Centralia Streetscape Improvement Project (CSIP). Residents on Wednesday browsed a multitude of visual displays inside Centralia College’s TransAlta Commons.

“The biggest concern I have is accessibility for disabled people and senior citizens,” said local business owner Patti Nelson of Nelson’s Just Wood Furniture, who advised The Chronicle about the difficulty many individuals — young and old —  experience simply getting “in and out of places.”

Others, such as Paul Crowner, liked what he saw, but voiced his displeasure with how a “derelict” building on Mellen Street and all its broken windows continue to rot and be an overall eyesore at the entrance of the city.

Public Engineer Eric Johnston, of SCJ Alliance, was one of a handful of hosts from the public and private sectors who engaged community members in hopes of clarifying the scope of work while also listening to requests.

“One of the key things here is to connect downtown Centralia at Tower and Pearl with the freeway (Interstate 5) and all the traffic coming off it. It’s quite a separation,” Johnston said. “So, we wanted to make those connections clear, easier to navigate for people who aren’t familiar with the town. But at the same time, (we’re) providing some buffering and aesthetic improvements such as landscaping and nicer sidewalks for the people who live here, who are trying to walk these streets or live in those neighborhoods,” he offered.

The proposed improvements along South Tower Avenue, North Tower Avenue and the intersection of Alder and Cherry streets include the construction of raised median islands to reduce vehicular speed, prohibit left turns and, in some cases, shorten crossing distances, along with the addition of curb extensions, also known as pedestrian bulb-outs, at North Tower Avenue, South Tower Avenue, the intersection of Alder and Cherry streets and the intersection of Mellen and Marsh streets. These curb enlargements, as noted on the featured images, would narrow roadways and create increased pedestrian space.

The proposed changes at the Harrison Avenue and West First Street intersection also include traffic-calming solutions, such as raised islands and the removal of left turns that reportedly contribute to traffic delays.

Other listed recommendations were the inclusion of banner signs, wayfinding signs and decorative light poles to heighten the “character and consistency” of area corridors.

Similarly, open-house attendees learned of proposed pavement treatments in the form of distinctive red brickwork that “create cleaner boundaries between vehicle and pedestrian space.”

The installation of street furniture (i.e. benches and trash cans) were presented as public fixtures that would make local thoroughfares more “workable and vibrant.”



Grace Redmon, a 20-year-old college student, harbored mixed feelings about the city’s plans, as she was grateful for city government’s willingness to welcome public feedback, but also doubtful about the placement of medians along Harrison Avenue.

The fact that Redmon works at the Centralia Dairy Queen gives her first-hand knowledge of the confusion that new medians and added greenery would create for drivers who may end up backing straight into the new structures.

Even more critical was Jim Schoelkopf, who questioned the “end goal” of the citywide venture in the way it aims to draw people into the downtown area.

He in fact employed an old Gertrude Stein line when commenting on the CSIP by stating: “There is no there, there. What is there to draw people downtown? You could have the most beautiful pathway getting you downtown, but what have you got once you get there?”

On that note, he communicated the need for a larger retail presence, especially one that is supportive of Centralia’s burgeoning arts community.

“Can they capitalize on that and have more homegrown arts businesses? And I’m not talking about chains because we’ve got those everywhere,” stated the retired educator and dog owner, who also campaigned for additional pet shops, athletically-geared stores and more restaurants.

Public Works Director Kim Ashmore was on hand to record a variety of opinions issued to him and his colleagues during Wednesday’s session and promised to consider everyone’s observations.

“We’ve had lots of good questions coming from the citizens who are here. We want all of the feedback we can get so we can make a decision on what’s important in this community and use the money ($3.9 million) we’ve earmarked for this project to say, ‘can we get some grants to help spread it even further?’”

CSIP’s public input period will be followed by draft recommendations and final recommendations that will be presented to City Council this fall, as per the project schedule on centraliastreetscape.com. Design and construction of the first phase of work is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.

Detailed specs of streetscape solutions are also available on the website.