Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Transportation Policy Board is set to make recommendations on the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan, a comprehensive update to Thurston County's long-term transportation strategy through 2050.
The board is scheduled to weigh in on the plan at a meeting on Wednesday, July 9.
At the center of the plan is the question of whether to retain or remove the proposed Log Cabin Road extension, a project intended to provide east-west connectivity between Lacey and Olympia, south of Yelm Highway.
The project has appeared in the transportation plan since 1984, but was removed from Olympia's own comprehensive plan in 2021. Instead, the City of Olympia committed to doing a study on southeast Olympia's transportation needs around 2030.
Between April 11 and May 9, the Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC) received 279 public comments on the transportation plan, most of which expressed opposition to the Log Cabin Road extension project. They expressed concerns about impacts to the LBA (Little Baseball Association) Woods.
At the Transportation Policy Board's meeting on June 11, board members expressed views on removing the project.
Some members raised concerns about regional impacts and fairness to partners like Lacey and Tumwater, which have made infrastructure investments based on the road's future inclusion. The board opted to postpone a decision to allow consultation with members' jurisdictions.
TRPC staff held follow-up meetings with Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, Thurston County and Intercity Transit.
The staff also updated traffic modeling, which showed that removing the Log Cabin Road extension would have impacts on traffic volumes on the regional road network, and to the level of service in 2050, but would have no impact on overall vehicle miles traveled or travel mode share.
If the Regional Transportation Plan is not adopted by June 11, the TRPC would be unable to amend or adopt a new Regional Transportation Improvement Program, which could delay federal funding for new projects.
If adopted without the Log Cabin Road project, approximately $10.25 million in funding could be redirected to other transportation priorities.
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Tanker1982
As I have said before, something has to be done to fix the traffic flow. Maybe a roundabout at Herman road SE and Wiggins road AND Wiggins road and Morse Merryman. That is better than doing nothing. 10.25million? I don’t know the cost but maybe an acceptable course of action mitigating the dangers. Something has to be done. I am a user of the road, not in the neighborhood so I have to respect the opinions of the locals
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 Report this
jimlazar
The Log Cabin Road Extension was planned to serve the developments known as Bentridge (501 residences) and Trillium (500 residences). These developments never moved ahead, and the developers sold the land to the City. It is now LBA Woods Park.
These developments would have built two-thirds of this road at no cost to the City. And they would have paid about $4,000 per lot (about $4 million total) in Transportation Impact Fees, which would have paid for the remaining third that would have been built by the City. In essence, the planned road was self-financing from the developments. Growth paying for growth, as it should.
Nearly all of the traffic on this road would have come from the Bentridge and Trillium developments. They were estimated to generate about 9,000 vehicle trips per day, the vast majority of which would have used Log Cabin Road to exit the neighborhood.
It would have also served a small amount of East/West traffic between Boulevard Road and Wiggins Road, but that traffic has plenty of other options, so the removal of this road from the City of Olympia plans does not create any congestion concern.
Lacey has only one road between College and Wiggins in the Chambers Basin -- 37th Ave SE, historically known as Herman Road; this terminates at Wiggins, and the previously proposed road would extend it to Boulevard Road. On the West of Wiggins, there are three roads through to Boulevard Road already: Wilderness, Morse-Merryman, and 27th Ave / 30th Avenue. None of these are congested. EACH of them has enough capacity to take any additional traffic that might come along 37th SE into the area. In essence, the "Olympia side" of this corridor has far more capacity than the "Lacey side" and there is no need for an additional road.
There was an expected need for this road 12 years ago when 1,001 homes were planned to be built in this area. That land is now preserved as a public park. Now there is no NEED for the road and no FINANCING PLAN for the road.
Yes, Wiggins Road needs safety improvements. That cost should be split between Thurston County, Lacey, and Olympia. Roundabouts would be a place to start, but it also needs safety shoulders or bike lanes.
Circumstances have changed in the past decade, and it's time for the Transportation Policy Board to update its plans to reflect the termination of the Bentridge and Trillium subdivisions, and with that termination, and end to the need for the Log Cabin Road Extension.
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 Report this
johnvaneenwyk
Excellent, Jim. Thank you.
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 Report this
JW
Extend the roads and pave over LBA woods. Log it off, sell the wood, and use the proceeds to fund all the pavement.
Thursday, July 3, 2025 Report this
HotTractor
Well done Jim!
Thursday, July 3, 2025 Report this