Plans in works to reduce heavy truck traffic in downtown Pullman

PULLMAN — Engineers are working to identify practical solutions that address truck traffic in Pullman’s newly built downtown.

Welch Comer, a Coeur d’Alene based consultant team, was chosen to lead a study that aims to reduce freight traffic on Main Street. The research, spearheaded by the Palouse Regional Transportation Planning Organization and the Washington Department of Transportation, is anticipated to conclude in June.

Welch Comer officials went to the community for input on downtown’s traffic congestion during their open house Thursday evening at the Pullman City Hall. The engineering firm also shared its progress and potential alternative routes during the meeting.

Melissa Cleveland, Welch Comer’s senior project manager, said there’s no better time to begin forming a long-term plan that caters to transportation needs of the area.

The engineering firm was hired by the city of Pullman to manage the downtown rebuild. The $12 million-plus project that started in April provides upgrades to Main Street’s sidewalks, roads, utilities and community spaces.

While Main Street opened to motorists in December, work won’t be fully complete until new traffic lights are installed near Spring Street — a development that was delayed due to supply chain challenges.

Cleveland said the engineering firm has spoken with 47 organizations and community members who rely on Pullman’s roads, including 13 local farms, 11 agricultural service providers, 11 government agencies and 12 industries.

Welch Comer learned that more than 75% of trucks traveling through downtown are coming from either the west or the east. Of that, more than 50% are only passing through Pullman rather than making deliveries in town.

She said less than 20% of freight traffic is coming from the north and less than 10% is from the south.

The engineering firm has identified seven potential routes that avoid Main, all of which come with advantages and challenges. The alternatives include utilizing Airport Road, Pullman Albion Road, two options on Terre View Drive, Bishop Boulevard, Sunshine Road, and a route on Sand and Kirkendahl roads.

Several local officials dropped by to see Welch Comer’s progress. Bobbie Ryder, Downtown Pullman Association’s executive director, said addressing Main Street’s traffic congestion is the next logical step for the area.

“Traffic might be slow but for pedestrians, it’s pretty fast,” she said. “If we can get trucks off Main, we can get people to come back with a more positive experience.”

Pullman Councilor Ann Parks said downtown traffic has long been a council concern, and she is happy to see other organizations looking into the issue.

“It comes down to safety for bicyclists, pedestrians and drivers,” she said.

Diverting truck traffic out of downtown would create more community access to the space, Parks said, and opportunities to initiate gatherings that increase foot traffic.

Whitman County Commissioner Tom Handy said the region is a large farming community and there’s no getting around the fact that trucks travel through town to transport grain. He supports alternative routes as long as they make sense for those who rely on the infrastructure and they work for everybody.

Tawny Higgins, Rico’s Public House owner, said she’s long advocated for a downtown bypass. She said current traffic makes it hard for the area to feel family-friendly and for patrons to enjoy the space.

“Sitting on the patio and eating while a livestock truck comes through really ruins the vibe,” she said. “There’s no food that smells good after that.”

Trucks can’t be eliminated from Main completely, she noted, because someone has to make deliveries to area businesses. However, There’s plenty of traffic that doesn’t need to cut through downtown.

“People really want to utilize this new space for family events and window shopping,” she said. “I’d like to have a vibrant downtown again.”

Community members mentioned they’d like to see Pullman have success with a layout similar to Moscow, which keeps traffic out of its centralized downtown, sometimes blocking portions of streets to vehicle traffic for events. Others expressed concerns about Pullman’s terrain causing difficulty for truck drivers and that the new downtown design, which decreases travel lanes on Main Street, would create a bottleneck for traffic.

More information on the freight traffic study is available at WhitmanTruckRoutes.org.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.