The Kelso City Council voted last night to postpone approval of the city’s Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program for 2027-2032 due to worries about adding bike lanes.

The contested part of the project, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Improvements, would add bike lanes and safety enhancements to Allen Street, Cowlitz Way, and Fourth and Fifth Avenues at a construction cost of $662,000.

Councilmember Keenan Harvey was the first to recommend removing that part of the project because he said they have heard repeatedly from constituents that they are not interested in bike lanes. The concerns Harvey said he and other council members had included semi-trucks fitting on Fourth and Fifth Avenues, the Allen Street Bridge getting narrower, and the lanes not being needed on roads with steep grades. He said First Avenue would actually be much better suited for these lanes.

The worries come after many people in Longview were upset in recent years over the Complete Streets initiative, which modernized the city’s roadways with similar changes.

The council voted to table the resolution and have it brought back without the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Improvements while keeping the other two projects on the list: the Talley Way Corridor Improvements and Systemic Safety Improvements 2023, which include pedestrian crossing enhancements citywide. City staff clarified that approving the Transportation Improvement Program does not commit the city to completing any project and that it simply identifies which projects are seeking federal funding.