Background

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area (CRGNSA) attracts many visitors due to its abundant recreation sites and other destinations. As more people use Washington State Route 14 (SR 14) to access places like the Dog Mountain Trailhead, congestion increases. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is partnering with the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to develop a congestion and safety plan for SR 14 and the Dog Mountain Trailhead to reduce congestion and improve safety in the corridor.

SR 14

SR 14 is a key highway on the Washington side of the CRGNSA that connects communities and recreational areas. As more people have moved to our region, recreation sites along SR 14 have become more popular resulting in travel delays and related safety concerns. Since population growth is expected to continue, with more people travelling on SR 14 to access the CRGNSA, the FHWA, USFS and WSDOT are undertaking this project to plan for the future and develop strategies that can reduce congestion and improve safety along the highway.

Dog Mountain Trailhead

The Dog Mountain Trail is very popular, especially in the spring when wildflowers are blooming. However, there is limited parking at the Dog Mountain Trailhead. This, in combination with an increase in use of the trail, has led people to park along the highway when the parking lot is full, creating safety issues. USFS in partnership with Skamania County has implemented a permit and shuttle bus system, but it is not expected to meet the long-term needs. As part of this planning process, FHWA, USFS and WSDOT will explore options to improve or relocate the trailhead and address these safety and congestion issues.

View of the Columbia River Gorge on a partly cloudy day with Washington State Route 14 in the foreground.

Get Involved

We need your help to identify challenges in the corridor! Share your concerns around safety and congestion on SR 14 and at Dog Mountain Trailhead.

About the plan

Vision

SR 14 - To promote safe access to these popular recreational areas, this plan will identify opportunities to address congestion and safety concerns while protecting scenic, natural, cultural and recreational resources.

Dog Mountain Trailhead - This plan will identify design alternatives to manage congestion at, and promote safe access to, the Dog Mountain Trailhead.

Yellow arrowleaf balsamroot flowers, red paintbrush, and purple lupine in full bloom at Dog Mountain. Hills and the Columbia River are in the background.

Goals

Congestion Management – Reduce or mitigate congestion.
Safety – Enhance safety for all transportation modes.
Future – Consider expected changes in future use.
Strategic Investment – Develop a fiscally sustainable plan.
Resource Protection – Protect scenic, natural, cultural and recreational features.
Access – Maintain access to destinations.

Hikers walk to the trail from a full parking lot at Dog Mountain trailhead.

Plan framework

Important factors to consider as we develop the plan:

Jurisdiction/land ownership
Limited visibility
Challenging topography
Maintenance
Funding
CRGNSA Management Plan guidelines

View of the Klickitat River Bridge spanning over the waterway on a partly cloudy day.

Study Area

What is the timeframe for the plan?

Summer 2020

Identify needs and draft objectives for the SR 14 corridor.

Fall 2020 - Winter 2021

Develop existing and projected conditions report based on corridor analysis

Open house #1

Submit comments on corridor needs and deficiencies

Spring 2021

Identify and evaluate each improvement option

Open house #2

Submit comments on potential improvement options

Summer 2021

Prepare draft feasibility study

Open house #3

Submit comments on the draft report

Fall 2021

Finalize study report after considering all comments received

Existing Conditions

The planning team developed an existing conditions report that discusses the environmental setting of the study area, along with existing safety and congestion concerns.

This report included a review of adopted plans and policies, input from study partners, site visits, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping, safety and traffic data.
Key takeaways from this report are included below.

Environmental Setting

Because this portion of SR 14 runs through the CRGNSA, any changes to the corridor will be subject to the CRGNSA Management Plan. This plan contains specific protections for natural, scenic and cultural resources that the SR 14 plan will need to take into account. Some of the resources that are protected by the CRGNSA Management Plan include:

Wetlands, lakes and ponds
Streams and riparian habitats
Priority habitats and sensitive wildlife sites
Rare plants and natural areas

Some sections of the CRGNSA are subject to stricter protections that also include forest resources.

Safety Concerns

The key safety concerns along the corridor include:

Visibility at driveways/access roads
Narrow shoulders
Overflowing parking lots
People parking on the shoulders of SR 14 and County roads
People driving too fast for conditions

Crash History

Five years of crash data along SR 14 was analyzed to determine locations where the number of crashes exceed the average. The following highway segments were flagged for further review:

West end of CRGNSA to Cape Horn Trailhead
Doetsch Ranch Road to West Bonneville
Wishram to east end of the CRGNSA

The most common types of crashes in the corridor were collisions with a guardrail, while rear-end collisions were the second most common. The most common contributing factors to crashes were drivers exceeding reasonable speeds and inattention. These crash types are consistent with SR 14's character as a scenic, winding highway with many cross streets, turnouts, access points and trailheads.

In addition to documented crashes on SR 14, the following recreation sites have experienced vehicles parking illegally in the shoulder when parking lots fill up, creating a potentially unsafe situation for vehicles and pedestrians:

Cape Horn Trailhead
Dog Mountain Trailhead
Drano Lake
Coyote Wall
Catherine Creek
Klickitat Spit

A long line of cars parked illegally on the shoulder of State Route 14. — Click image to enlarge

Congestion

Traffic volumes on SR 14 vary significantly along the length of the study corridor but remain within the capacity limits of SR 14. Congestion is most likely to happen in more urban locations during rush hour or in peak tourism seasons (typically spring and summer).

Parking lots at popular recreation sites fill up on weekends, particularly in peak seasons, which can create safety and congestion concerns as people park on the sides of adjacent roads. In areas like Dog Mountain, this has started to happen on Fridays and Mondays as well.

The planning team expects traffic and visitor use to increase in the future, particularly at locations most accessible from urban areas.

SR 14 and Dog Mountain Trailhead Congestion and Safety Plan