The Real Reason Some Kennewick Streets Have No Streetlights

A funny thing happened to me once we moved to Kennewick, Washington. I noticed my neighborhood was missing a few vital features along our street, and I couldn't figure out why.

Why Older Kennewick Neighborhoods Look Different

I live near Yokes in Kennewick, and we've got a newer neighborhood a few blocks up from our 1970's home.

I had commented jokingly that our neighborhood didn't look as nice as the newer neighborhood, and my wife pointed out something that I hadn't even thought about until she mentioned it.

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Why Newer Kennewick Developments Have More Amenities

My wife said it wasn't our homes that looked shabby, but that our street didn't have sidewalks or street lights.

It was like a huge awakening that I hadn't even noticed.

My street was missing sidewalks and street lights, and it would totally change the whole look of our neighborhood.

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It got me thinking, why doesn't Kennewick have sidewalks and street lights?

I contacted the planning department with the city of Kennewick, and Melinda Didier, who works at the city, was quick to respond with a reason.

Melinda is quite the historian and was a fountain of information concerning two vital features on a city street.

My area of town was annexed into Kennewick in 1998, and before that time, if you lived in Benton County, the building constraints weren't as strict as the building requirements of the City of Kennewick

So any new development in Kennewick will have sidewalks and street lights, and the builders will pay for it.

It was a cost-saving measure for builders in the county back in the day, but now I know the reason my little neighborhood in Kennewick doesn't have sidewalks or street lights.