Laserfiche WebLink
Kittitas County Transportation Element 2oi8 <br />2.1 EXISTING CONDITIONS <br />This chapter describes how people use Kittitas <br />County's transportation network today, as well as <br />how that may change over the next 20 years as the <br />region grows. The way people travel is greatly <br />influenced by the built environment, which includes <br />land use and travel corridors, as well as the key <br />destinations where people live, work, shop, and <br />recreate. This chapter also describes trends in how <br />people are traveling based on anticipated <br />development patterns and travel mode data. <br />LAND USES AND KEY DESTINATIONS <br />The places where people live, work, and play are <br />impacted by how a county and its communities <br />guide development. The Land Use Element of this <br />Comprehensive Plan provides this guidance. The <br />Kittitas County zoning map regulates the types of <br />uses that are allowed in specific areas of the region. <br />This zoning map leads to clustering of like uses, for <br />example shopping and other commercial <br />destinations in downtown and along major roadway <br />corridors, with other areas limited to primarily <br />residential development or agriculture. Changes to <br />zoning can affect not only the land use, but also use <br />of the surrounding transportation network. The <br />current zoning map for Kittitas County is shown in <br />Figure 2. Key destinations in the county are mapped <br />in Figure 3 and described below. <br />The incorporated cities in Kittitas County are <br />Ellensburg, Cie Elum, South Cie Elum, Roslyn, and <br />Kittitas. Ellensburg is the county seat and the largest <br />of these cities, a hub of commercial and recreational <br />activity. The cities of Roslyn and Cie Elum are both <br />centers of recreational tourism. Even within these <br />incorporated communities, the majority of housing is <br />detached single family with an owner occupied <br />housing rate of 58 percent'. <br />More than half of the county is forested, with 30 <br />percent pasture and only two percent urban land. <br />Agricultural developments are located throughout <br />Kittitas County, with lower, more level expanses <br />located in the central and southeast regions. The <br />County is known for its high quality Timothy Hay that <br />is shipped all over the world. Timber is another <br />2 ACS 2011-2015 <br />major economic commodity for County residents. <br />The export of forest and agricultural products lead to <br />a lot of farm and heavy vehicles traveling on low <br />volume County roads. This can lead to <br />disproportionately high levels of pavement damage <br />and safety concerns. <br />Large swaths of the northwest portions of the <br />county are highly mountainous, with the Okanogan - <br />Wenatchee National Forest, four lakes that the US <br />Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) operates as part of <br />the Yakima Project, and Lake Easton State Park <br />comprising large areas of public land. Recreation <br />opportunities draw crowds to the sno-parks, lakes, <br />and trails. Sixty four percent of Kittitas County land is <br />managed by state or federal agencies so interagency <br />cooperation is crucial. <br />It is important to consider that areas of commercial, <br />industrial, and dense residential land use tend to <br />have more concentrated trips and can be supportive <br />of alternative modes of travel such as transit, <br />whereas areas of low density residential and <br />agricultural use tend to have dispersed trip patterns <br />more conducive to trips made by personal vehicle. <br />Recreational destinations are also subject to <br />seasonal trip fluctuations, which can stress local <br />roadway networks. <br />9 1 P a g e <br />