West 5th in Washington will be seeing some changes in the coming months. The new Washington YMCA is set to open the first week of June and with increased traffic in the area the city council is looking at changes to the speed zones in the area. Police Chief Jim Lester explained what they are looking at, “This is just in anticipation of the increased traffic we’ll have there at the Y, putting a four-way stop at West 5th and D, as well as reducing the speed limits as we go out farther to the west.”

The speed zone currently goes from 25 miles per hour up to 40 miles per on West 5th before the stop sign at Highway 1. The council is considering lowering the 40 miles per hour zone and potentially extending the 25 mile per hour area. The item was officially tabled for further consideration at the most recent council meeting. Once a proposal is up for consideration it will have three readings before being put in place. The council will revisit the item in May.