Will Easton/Cle Elum ever be a suburb of Seattle/Bellevue? (Spokane: homes, tech jobs)

[grega94]

Do you Think that Easton/Cle Elum will ever be a suburb of Seattle/Bellevue in the next 50 years? It's only about an hour away and has arguably a nicer climate. So do you see hundreds/thousands of people crossing the pass to commute to work if I-90 is widened and winter crossing made more reliable. Do you think that the climate, the proximity to snoqualmie pass and nature would be a strong enough incentive for people to settle there? And if it ever does happen, how large of a suburb would it be, would it be small with 15,000 people or large with more than 50,000 people. Do you think it could be like Bremerton with its own identity, or more like a marysville suburbia. Currently there is about 2-3000 people living in that area.

Also what do you think if a high speed rail was built along I-90 from Seattle to Spokane and there was a train station there or in ellensburg, would that change the equation, or would ticket prices be to high for people to move there. Or if there was good bus service, it takes an hour for people to take the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle, so do you think people would do the same to ride on a nice bus with great mountain views durring the commute.

[ShadoAngel]

From Easton in good weather and no traffic (ha) it's just over an hour. Cle Elum's another 10+ minutes further. Winter weather and/or traffic would make that drive really long. If infrastructure was improved though and the area keeps growing, I could see it happening for a few people. It would definitely feel like it had its own identity, IMO. No way to build up anything between North Bend and Easton, so you have a solid 40 mile stretch of mountains separating any east side bedroom community from Seattle-area suburbs.

If the school system in the area improved (they currently have pretty low scores) and maybe it wasn't quite so small, I'd consider moving there myself.

[pnwguy2]

Interesting story...in 1969 my father was offered a Yakima Riverside plat of land just east of Easton for some crazy low price back then, (maybe 2-3 thousand, not sure) with the promise that one day this area would be a suburb of Seattle, and a golf course would be built through the community. "Prices will go through the roof!" is the saying that I keep remembering.

Today, 46 years later there is a community of homes there, there is a golf course, but that is where the dream ends. The homes are very middle class, even along the river, and the golf course, while playable, is certainly not close to championship caliber, IMO. The idea of "prices will go through the roof" is true and false. True, they are much higher than if someone had put roots down in 1969, but this also applies to almost everywhere in the west.

Most importantly, there is little indication of any suburban development east of the Cascades until you get to perhaps Sunscadia, a few areas around Cle Elum, but really nothing of major note once past the Snoqualmie Highlands, well on the west side of the Cascades.

However, I-90 is undergoing major reconstruction from Hyak over to Easton, and this could change the equation, but all bets are off. Sounds a bit like "Back To The Future". Oh and the weather is indeed somewhat more sunny, but also colder from November to April.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by grega94

Also what do you think if a high speed rail was built along I-90 from Seattle to Spokane and there was a train station there or in ellensburg, would that change the equation, or would ticket prices be to high for people to move there. Or if there was good bus service, it takes an hour for people to take the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle, so do you think people would do the same to ride on a nice bus with great mountain views durring the commute.

Even with high-speed rail, the Easton/Cle Elum population (2,000+?) probably wouldn't justify a station. It would shoot straight through to Ellensburg. Could lead to development of Ellensburg as more of a major job center.

Weather/snow closing down the Pass and treacherous driving conditions mitigate against this as a current or future commute corridor. Think of that "nice bus" under blizzard conditions...

[blaserbrad]

I really hope not

[Hemlock140]

I think it already is, there are many people living in CleElum commuting to the eastside, mainly to Microsoft Sammamish which is actually in Issaquah, Siemens, and Spacelabs, but also some working in Bellevue in the I90 corridor.
This from a realtor we were talking to about property there a couple of years ago.

[grega94]

Thanks for your insight, and like blaserbrad said, it's probably for the best if this scenario never happens.

[pnwguy2]

Those commuting from Cle Elum/Easton to Issaquah, Snoqualmie Highlands, are much heartier souls than me. I guess if I had a four wheel drive vehicle I would feel more secure. But my Camry would just say "go back home, you'll never make it, and if you do it will be three hours late".

However, I do see the North Bend/Snoqualmie areas continue to grow. (BTW, on the wet (west) side of the Cascades.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

Those commuting from Cle Elum/Easton to Issaquah, Snoqualmie Highlands, are much heartier souls than me. I guess if I had a four wheel drive vehicle I would feel more secure. But my Camry would just say "go back home, you'll never make it, and if you do it will be three hours late".

However, I do see the North Bend/Snoqualmie areas continue to grow. (BTW, on the wet (west) side of the Cascades.

Yes, they are brave, but in many tech jobs people can opt to work from home if the pass gets too bad. CleElum was removed from our list when we found out that their snow can last from November-March, averaging 81 inches/year.

[pnwguy2]

That is a good point, and one that I had not thought of. But the future may indeed contain more of these remote job locations. However, most companies still feel the the need to have a staff that is conncected in some form or other. I'm not sure the days of everyone working from home are near.