Sunday, November 9, 2025
The Olympia City Council is set to consider a resolution authorizing a $988,928 agreement with Skillings, Inc. to provide design services on the long-anticipated Elliott Avenue sidewalk project.
Elliott Avenue, a two-lane street with limited sidewalks and no bike lanes, was identified in the city's 2003 Sidewalk Program. It is scheduled for completion under from the Voted Utility Tax approved by voters in September 2004. The project is estimated to cost a total of $5.85 million, including construction costs.
The proposal is scheduled for a vote, as part of the city council's consent calendar on Tuesday, July 8.
If approved, the agreement would initiate design work to add a sidewalk, a separated bike lane, and a stormwater swale on the north side of Elliott Avenue. It would also include striping revisions at the intersection of Division Street and Elliott Avenue, and a fully designed streetlight system.
A city staff report also emphasized the project's role in reducing transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.
In the Thurston County region, transportation-related emissions are the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
"Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels in transportation is essential to lessening our impact on the climate. A reduction can be obtained by replacing gas-powered vehicle trips with trips made by walking, biking, and transit," the staff report states.
The project aims to make Elliott Avenue safer and more inviting to make trips by walking or biking. The project supports transportation strategies, such as increasing the efficiency of the transportation system and increasing the use of active forms of travel, like walking and biking.
"Our current street system is oriented around the car. This project will help make our transportation system fairer by changing Elliott Avenue to better serve people who can't, or who choose not to drive," the staff report states.
"This project will make it easier to walk, bike, and ride the bus for those members of the community who cannot afford a vehicle. Making it easier to get around without a car is a significant step towards achieving equity in our community."
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Boatyarddog
Oh come on now... where are all of the Oh Boo Hoo crowd their goes my TAX dollars! Spent helping the 99% Affected by Tax breaks for the Wealthy! FU D.J.T.
Monday, July 7 Report this
BobJacobs
This is a thoroughly inadequate article. The headline says it is a sidewalk project, but the text says it is also about bike lanes, stormwater facilities and street lighting.
Truth is, Elliot Avenue is thoroughly inadequate in every respect. It needs to be reconstructed in full, including recontouring of the travel lanes. It has been in city plans for decades. Apparently this is not what the project is about, because it includes a stormwater swale instead of a storm sewer. We should not be rebuilding this awful stretch of street piecemeal. It should be done all at once like Fones Rd. for efficiency.
Many of us have lobbied for many years to get this street brought up to city standards.
JOLT should be providing a full description with illustrations.
Tuesday, July 8 Report this
northbeachcomm
It is unfortunate that there is not more information in this article on the Elliot AVE NW changes. There used to be a discussion, from the City of Oly. that there would be a round-about there at Elliot and Division ST NW; there are so
many accidents there near the Handy Pantry! I presume that the City has now dropped the idea of a round-about at that location? We will never know because the Jolt failed to tell us about past discussions on this issue? It would be great to see pictures of the proposed sidewalk on Elliot, many of us have been begging for 20 years for sidewalks there! The school children get off of the school bus at Division ST NW. They walk to their classes at GRUB, on Elliot AVE NW. There is no sidewalk.
They have to walk in the street, in the parking lot to get to their classes at GRUB? This issue is real, it is important.
Tuesday, July 8 Report this
JulesJames
Everyone on City Staff who still believes bicycles are a legitimate form of transportation -- or have any influence on climate change -- need transfers from the transportation arena into something else. Petal bicycles are wonderful recreation devices. But segregating two-wheeled vehicles within an arterial roadway -- now that ebikes have competitive acceleration and cruising speeds with real traffic -- is a massively embarrassing waste of taxpayer dollars.
Tuesday, July 8 Report this