RSSLincoln Avenue licensing office to close; Goldendale stays open
YAKIMA, Wash. --Motorists in the Upper Valley will soon have to head to Union Gap to renew their driver’s license.
In response to state budget constraints, the state Department of Licensing is shutting down 10 of its offices statewide, and the Yakima office at 2111 W. Lincoln Ave. is set for an October closure.
Two workers in that office will be moved to the Union Gap office to accommodate an anticipated increase in business there, said Department of Licensing spokeswoman Selena Davis in Olympia. The Union Gap office is at 2725 Rudkin Road.
Most of the closures will occur on the west side of the state, Department of Licensing officials said.
The department opted to leave offices in rural areas such as Goldendale open so people wouldn’t have to drive too far for services.
Closing the offices will save the state about $2 million this biennium, and another $2.4 million the next biennium, Department of Licensing officials said.
Closing the Yakima office alone will save the state about $66,640 this biennium, Davis added.
In addition to Yakima, offices in Olympia, Bothell, east Seattle, west Tacoma and Vancouver will also be closed this year. All of these offices are within 10 miles of another office that they will be consolidated with, Department of Licensing officials said.
Offices in Othello, Auburn and the Greenwood area of Seattle have already closed.
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The biggest problem I see is that in both offices, lines are interminably long due to the staffing of about half the available customer counters. If all the counters were staffed, it would take way less time to get licenses or renewals. I hope they plan to keep existing staff and fully utilize the facility. If they lay off staff as well, get ready for waits over an hour.
Report ViolationI have been to the licensing office in Union Gap twice and the Lincoln Avenue office once. At the Lincoln office I waited 20 minutes, at the Union Gap office - no wait, either time - walked right up and was out in 5 minutes - middle of the week, middle of the day. What lines are you talking about? Here we have an example of the government trying to save some of our tax dollars by consolidating unneccessary service centers and you are complaining about lines? No wonder we have such a financial mess - convenience and instant gratification is everything.
Report Violation YakRob...
"At the Lincoln office I waited 20 minutes, at the Union Gap office - no wait, either time"
I experienced just the opposite...
The Lincoln office was super quick and I was the only person there when I re-newed my license. It is also half the distance from where I live than the Union Gap office. However...budget cuts are necessary and I understand the the need to save money by closing the Lincoln office. By the way... not all of us require instant gratification, especially when you reach my age and tend to be more tolerant about having to wait. I'm sure I'll see alot of interesting people that will distract me from watching the clock...ha!
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