8,000+ new homes in West Pasco? (Seattle, Kennewick: condos, construction, high school)

[pnwguy2]

The TC Herald reporting plans are being made for more than 8,000 new homes and condos in West Pasco just west of Road 100. The new development will supposedly be more "thoughtful" than Road 68. This was inevitable, as the last land along the I-182 corridor is quickly being developed.

I would be happy to see a different approach than Road 68, where most of the development is on either side of the main street and creates extreme traffic congestion on a narrow corridor. Perhaps the planners can be smarter about this next major development.

Pasco imagines 5,000-plus homes, commercial development at Broadmoor | Tri-City Herald

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

The TC Herald reporting plans are being made for more than 8,000 new homes and condos in West Pasco just west of Road 100. The new development will supposedly be more "thoughtful" than Road 68. This was inevitable, as the last land along the I-182 corridor is quickly being developed.

I would be happy to see a different approach than Road 68, where most of the development is on either side of the main street and creates extreme traffic congestion on a narrow corridor. Perhaps the planners can be smarter about this next major development.

Pasco imagines 5,000-plus homes, commercial development at Broadmoor | Tri-City Herald

Well. They would be hard pressed to be dumber.

[pnwguy2]

Originally Posted by M3 Mitch

Well. They would be hard pressed to be dumber.

Agreed. Back when Road 68 was exploding in the late 90's/early 2000's, ANY development was encouraged whether it made sense or not. Mostly is did not make sense.

What is needed at Road 100 is an older highway style, that being frontage roads off the main road. This keeps traffic moving on the main corridor and allows for consumers to get to their store more easily.

Traffic circles can't solve these type of problems. Bolder thinking is needed. (Sidenote: Traffic circles, or round-a-bouts, are set to be constructed up on Queensgate near I-182. True, this corridor is badly outdated, built in the 80's when there was no development at Queensgate, but I'm not sure round-a-bouts are the ultimate answer. Eventually, the entire interchange needs major reconstruction with flyovers, but that is simply not in any State or Federal budget at this time.)

Of course, we all are going to be shopping from our homes soon. Yeah, right...

[Moon Waffle]

It’s absolutely ridiculous to suggest there are any traffic issues in the Tri-Cities. Spend any amount of time in any community with 250k+ people in the USA and you will quickly realize how there are ZERO traffic issues here. Having to wait 5 minutes for two traffic light cycles on Road 68 on a Saturday afternoon does not constitute “traffic” in any way, shape, or form.

8k new homes in West Pasco will have little impact. There are still plenty of roads and routes for people to travel. You don’t have to take Road 68 to get wherever you are trying to go.

[pnwguy2]

Originally Posted by Moon Waffle

It’s absolutely ridiculous to suggest there are any traffic issues in the Tri-Cities. Spend any amount of time in any community with 250k+ people in the USA and you will quickly realize how there are ZERO traffic issues here. Having to wait 5 minutes for two traffic light cycles on Road 68 on a Saturday afternoon does not constitute “traffic” in any way, shape, or form.

8k new homes in West Pasco will have little impact. There are still plenty of roads and routes for people to travel. You don’t have to take Road 68 to get wherever you are trying to go.

It is all relative. If you come from a larger area, then traffic seems like a breeze in Tri-Cities. If you come from a smaller area, it is congested. And for those who have lived in the Tri for over 20 yeas, it is indeed getting more congested.

[Moon Waffle]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

It is all relative. If you come from a larger area, then traffic seems like a breeze in Tri-Cities. If you come from a smaller area, it is congested. And for those who have lived in the Tri for over 20 yeas, it is indeed getting more congested.

My point is that it is NOT relative. Pick another community the size of TC. You can even pick many communities SMALLER than TC. And you’ll find much worse traffic. I travel the country for work on a weekly basis to many places of similar size. I see it firsthand.

Nope, the TC has ZERO traffic issues. There is no justification to any complaints. Like I said, if a road just happens to be “busy” (i.e. more than 10 cars at the light) there are any number of alternative routes than can be taken. One of the very few progressive, forward-thinking things this community has done is build a massive road system far beyond its needs.

[pnwguy2]

I respectfully disagree. Have you been on Queensgate on a Saturday? How about 240 or Geo Way SB on any weekday between 3:30 and 5:30? Clearwater on any weekday around the noon hour? Not sure what you are seeing or not seeing.

[M3 Mitch]

Yeah, the "pinch point" at the very south end of G-Way gets pretty clogged up on work evenings. It's not at all like Seattle, but, it is enough that I try to avoid that area during those times.

[pnwguy2]

The southward traffic pattern in Richland is nothing new. Thank God for the bypass, which was built several decades ago to keep the traffic moving SB. The secondary route has always been Geo Way, and perhaps Jadwin to some extent. The Hanford High School outflow contributes.

There is indeed traffic in Richland at certain times of the day. I don't think much can be done about that particular issue.

As for other areas, let's break it down.

Road 68 in Pasco is a disaster. The infrastructure there has been somewhat improved, but has never been able to catch up with the traffic growth. The whole area was poorly designed, or at best, did not comprehend the growth that later occurred in the early 2000's.

Queensgate built some freeway interchanges off I-182 to serve projected growth back in the 80's. Unfortunately they had no clue of what this would like in the 2010's. Today, this remedy is more traffic circles, when in fact they need more lanes of traffic, (a much more expensive project).

There are some bright spots. The Clearwater/Steptoe interchange seems to be built for the future, and The Bob Olsen Parkway, (now finished) is a secret bypass for those who want to get from East Kennewick to West Kennewick.

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

The southward traffic pattern in Richland is nothing new. Thank God for the bypass, which was built several decades ago to keep the traffic moving SB. The secondary route has always been Geo Way, and perhaps Jadwin to some extent. The Hanford High School outflow contributes.

There is indeed traffic in Richland at certain times of the day. I don't think much can be done about that particular issue.

As for other areas, let's break it down.

Road 68 in Pasco is a disaster. The infrastructure there has been somewhat improved, but has never been able to catch up with the traffic growth. The whole area was poorly designed, or at best, did not comprehend the growth that later occurred in the early 2000's.

Queensgate built some freeway interchanges off I-182 to serve projected growth back in the 80's. Unfortunately they had no clue of what this would like in the 2010's. Today, this remedy is more traffic circles, when in fact they need more lanes of traffic, (a much more expensive project).

There are some bright spots. The Clearwater/Steptoe interchange seems to be built for the future, and The Bob Olsen Parkway, (now finished) is a secret bypass for those who want to get from East Kennewick to West Kennewick.

I will enter that in the "understatement of the year" contest. Road 68 used to be just a road with an exit, maybe one gas station there, there were farms and nurseries to the north. The development of the past few years has been intense, but with no visible signs of coordination. This has become another one of those "Nobody goes there anymore - it's too crowded." sort of places.