Leavenworth, WA considering heated streets, no car traffic, pedestrian plaza

LEAVENWORTH, Wash. - The City of Leavenworth is considering a major transformation of its iconic downtown corridor, forever making the Bavarian-themed destination’s main drag into a permanent pedestrian plaza.

Mayor Carl Florea said the city is looking at redesigning Front Street and surrounding areas as tourism in the mountain town continues to grow. The city estimates Leavenworth draws about 3 million visitors each year.

"We want to keep giving people reasons to keep coming back," said Florea.

Reimagining Front Street

The proposed redesign would focus on Front Street the heart of downtown Leavenworth, stretching past businesses and landmarks including Gustav’s, München Haus, the Nutcracker Museum, Icicle Brewing and the Festhalle.

The vision includes removing curbs and other features associated with vehicle traffic and replacing them with pavers, festival lighting and expanded pedestrian gathering areas. City leaders are also considering additions such as terrace seating near the sledding hill, a redesigned event stage and potentially even heated streets or cooling features like fountains.

The idea grew out of changes made during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Leavenworth temporarily closed portions of downtown streets to allow for social distancing. The barricades installed during the summer of 2020 have remained in place ever since.

According to Florea, many who initially opposed the closures later embraced the pedestrian-only atmosphere.

Inspiration from Bavaria

City leaders traveled to Bavaria more than a year ago to study historic European towns for inspiration.

The mayor shared they took photographs and gathered ideas during the trip that are now helping shape conceptual designs for the project.

Florea said city leaders also want to improve the concert and festival experience downtown as tourism patterns continue evolving.

"The shoulder seasons are growing shorter and shorter. People staying longer. We’re getting more and more peaks," he said.

Timeline and funding still unclear

Despite the ambitious vision, city leaders say the project is still in the early design stages. Florea said only about 10% of the project has been designed so far and officials are seeking public feedback before moving ahead.

"So we’re still 2-3 years probably before you’ll see the big changes start to occur," explained Florea.

The overall price tag also remains uncertain, though city leaders acknowledge the project will be expensive. Some funding could come from money generated through the lodging industry, according to Florea.

"It’s not going to come cheap, and we don’t want to do it cheap," he said.

Even so, Florea believes the investment could become a defining moment in the town’s history.

"I’ve heard some store owners say this is going to be the biggest thing that’s happened to Leavenworth since we became Bavarian," he said.

Florea said officials expect to have a better sense of the final design plans by the end of the year.

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