There is new street paint and rules of the road on Holly Street in downtown Bellingham, a critical one-way arterial that hosts an average of 13,225 travelers daily.
The paint changed the format of the bike, parking and turn lanes between Commercial and Bay Street. The funding for the design was passed as part of a six-year Transportation Improvement Program for the City of Bellingham.
Shane Sullivan, transportation engineer for the City of Bellingham said the entire program is paid through sales tax.
“The people that are using the bike lane, as long as they’re residents, are paying the same fair share as those using the road,” Sullivan said.
Public Works Communications and Outreach Coordinator Natalie Monro said the City observed the bike lanes through the summer, peak biking season, to see if the infrastructure changed transportation behavior among residents.
“The intention is to learn about how well a parking-protected bike lane and the bike lane generally would work on Holly Street because we knew that this was going to be a tricky corridor,” Monro said.
In the Bellingham Bicycle Master Plan, Holly Street was listed as one of the ten most stressful corridors for cyclists due to factors such as speed of vehicles, number of lanes and traffic volumes.
Bellingham Public Works continues to take public comment to curate a final design that works for the road and the people using it.
Tobi Winikoff, a Bellingham resident, sees the change as an improvement. The space for vehicles has been reduced to one passing lane and two turn lanes going in either direction. The right turn lane intersects with the bike lane.
“I think the changes in the paint have helped to ease congestion, and also made it safer with less need to change lanes, allowing cyclists a safer trip down the hill,” Winikoff said via email.
When the City announced the new street paint via Instagram, some residents commented that the change was confusing and dangerous.
“I want someone in any vehicle to be able to see the corner from, at minimum, a 45-degree angle. The further away from the corner I can see, the better,” Josh Becker, another Bellingham local, said in a direct message on Instagram.
Becker sees the new bike lanes as a threat to cyclists, drivers and pedestrians. He believes the placement of planters and parked cars reduces visibility and disrupts the flow of traffic.
Monro said cyclists can contribute to traffic safety by being predictable.
“Keeping your heads up, keeping aware of your circumstances, and making it easy for drivers to anticipate what your next move is going to be,” Monro said. “I think as commuters, we tend to autopilot our way home and autopilot our way to work. And that's really where a lot of accidents happen.”
The 2023 Transportation Report on Annual Mobility states that 4.6% of Bellingham residents are biking to work, the highest recording ever. The report stated the goal for 2026 is to increase the number of regular cyclists to 7%, then to 12% by 2036.
Sonja Max, vice president of Walk and Roll Bellingham, understands that change can be difficult, but believes it's important to develop bike infrastructure for those who may not feel as confident biking in vehicle traffic.
“There’s no way we’re going to reach that [TRAM goal] if we keep our bike facilities only good for those people who are the most confident riders,” Max said.
Using data and public feedback, Bellingham Public Works is currently drafting a recommendation to submit to the Transportation Committee in November. The pilot design was constrained to the original construction of the road, which is why the paint was used as a temporary build. The City plans to use feedback to inform permanent bike lane structures.
“I know that it's been very frustrating for people to have this design going a way they don't like, but we called it a pilot, and we meant it. We are taking their feedback and taking it very seriously as we're looking at the final design,” Monro said.
Chris Bruntlett, Dutch Cycling Embassy international relations manager, said creating an interconnected network for cyclists doesn’t happen overnight. There are limitations to when and where people can use bikes, but giving people the choice of their mode of transportation starts with creating the infrastructure.
“You might be surprised at how often people will [choose] cycling if you make it convenient and comfortable enough,” Bruntlett said.
Larson McDonagh (they/them) is a City News reporter for The Front this quarter. They are majoring in Environmental Journalism. They are the current President of Western’s Advanced Treble Chorale for which they’ve been involved for the past three years. Outside of school, they enjoy reading good books and cooking delicious meals. You can reach them at larsmcdonagh.thefront@gmail.com.
