Yakima Valley Trolleys Selah route faces an uncertain future pending a vote on 6th Avenue

YAKIMA, Wash. – The Yakima Valley Trolleys, known as the last remaining inter-urban railroad in the country, are facing an uncertain future. The city council voted 6-1 in January to renew their five-year operation agreement

In October, the council narrowly approved funding to repair the Naches River Bridge, moving the trolleys closer to returning rides to Selah. However, another obstacle threatens not just their revenue but also their historical significance.

Recently, the trolleys hosted their first Valentine’s trolley rides, attracting more than 60% of the 300 riders from outside Yakima and from five different states. This event aimed to showcase the tourism potential if the Selah route is restored, a route they haven’t used in over three years.

Greg Johnsen, treasurer of the Yakima Valley Trolleys, emphasized the importance of the Selah route.

“It’s a much bigger tourist draw than just running on Pine Street. So we think that it has a lot of importance for the community in terms of how we can offer what we can offer to tourists,” he said.

At a January 20th city council meeting, Community Development Director Bill Preston expressed concerns about funding for the project if council does indeed to go forward with renovating the tracks.

“They [funding partners] said that the trolley tracks being in the roadway are a turnoff to them for wanting to fund this project. And the reason: we’re putting two longitudinal French drains right down the center of the road; water is not good for a road,” he said.

Ken Johnsen, president of the Yakima Valley Trolleys, warned that losing the Selah route could end their national historic landmark application, which Johnsen noted they are four and a half years into; as well as it could potentially remove them from the National Register of Historic Places, which they’ve been on since 1992.

The city council will decide if funding the trolley tracks should come from transportation district funds or if it’s just a tourist attraction. A public hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday’s city council meeting, where a vote is expected.