Five things I hate about Ellensburg

Katlyn White, Columnist

Ellensburg is a beautiful place to live. We have beautiful rolling hills, picturesque downtown and CWU’s campus full of historic brick buildings. 

However, these positives do not hide the underbelly of flaws. They draw students and residents into this town with its sense of community and small-town living. Then once they’re here, the facade starts to slip. 

Closed Mondays and Sundays. 

The most irritating thing is when I want to go out to eat on Sundays or Mondays and the store is closed. It is 3 p.m. on a Sunday, this is the perfect time to eat lunch. Why are all of these places closed on Sundays and Mondays? Because they are closed, I wind up at Taco Bell. According to a quick Google search, Ellensburg Pasta Company, Lunchbox Cafe and Fidelina’s Taqueria are all closed on Sundays. The Red Pickle, Crazy Wok, Sugar Thai and Young T and Tea are closed on Mondays. In bigger cities, this would not be an issue because there would be more options. 

Parking Problems

The parking has always been bad here. Either I drive to campus and someone has parked in two stalls or I go into town and it is impossible to park at my destination during peak hours. Everything is parallel parking or down one-way roads three blocks down. On the bright side, I have gotten superb at parallel parking. 

Expensive Movie Theater Tickets

Now, this is the worst thing I could have imagined. Grand Cinema Theater has raised its prices. What once was a $12.50 for a 7 p.m. show is now a whopping $14. This was my favorite pastime, but it now costs more than my Disney+ and HBO Max subscription combined. I will continue to go to support a small business, but I won’t be happy about it. 

Slowest Town

Everyone has said this before, but why are some of these roads 25 miles per hour? After passing CWU, Alder Street and Airport Road should be 35 mph. Side streets can be 25 mph, that is fine with me. The main roads should not be. 

Lacking Stores

Sometimes people need a bit of retail therapy, but it is impossible in this town. The clothing options are lacking. The small businesses that sell clothes don’t necessarily have everyone in this college town’s style and are expensive on a college person’s budget. Fred Meyer has the worst selection and even worse prices. Buying clothes online can be a hassle, so a drive to Yakima is the best way to get clothes. 

Ellensburg needs to figure out their flaws and fix them…or else.