Leavenworth approves $315K for Village of Lights traffic, safety

LEAVENWORTH — The Leavenworth City Council has approved up to $315,000 for traffic management and public safety measures ahead of the 2026 Village of Lights: Christmastown, which draws large weekend crowds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s weekend.

According to the city, event-related traffic and safety concerns have been overseen by the Village of Lights Traffic Planning Group since 2018. Each year, the group coordinates traffic management, law enforcement, emergency response, communications, parking and other operational needs.

Coordination involves representatives from the Washington State Patrol, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Fire District #3, Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce, and Cascade Medical Center, as well as Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, Public Works, and Emergency Management.

Over time, the coordination has grown to include an Incident Action Plan, WSDOT traveler communications, increased law enforcement presence and refined traffic control measures, including bus parking and expanded no-parking zones along emergency response routes. 

According to the city, costs increased significantly in 2024 due to expanded flagging operations, law enforcement needs and an increase from three to six days of traffic management.

The budget is based on 2025’s budget projection rather than expenditures, due to the Dec. 10 weather event significantly reducing tourism. The plan also includes a change made in 2025, which supplemented flaggers by having WSDOT traffic engineers and technicians monitor traffic flow via livestreamed data and reports from law enforcement. 

“They're watching all the cameras to see what's going on, how to shift which traffic light and when. And, when we see [the flow of cars start] to slow down, they send everybody home, so we stop paying,” said Executive Assistant Courtney Porter.

The city estimates nearly $101,000 will be allocated to the Sheriff’s Office, which covers patrol over the entirety of each weekend. More than $40,000 is estimated for Washington State Patrol services. An estimated $35,000 will go toward WSDOT traffic management personnel, while more than $96,000 will go toward TBMM for traffic control flagging. A 15% contingency of nearly $41,000 is included in the budget.

Porter said TBMM’s costs were just under 4% more than the second bidder, but the company offered significantly more staffing.

“They've done this before, so they know the traffic control plan pretty well. They said we'll need 15, and they did it based on the plans that were provided,” said Porter.

During the Sept. 22 meeting, Leavenworth City Council unanimously approved both the Village of Lights budget and the TBMM contract.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media