News - Local News

POSTED: Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009

More biking, less parking: Life on the new Cornwall Avenue

The public hearing lasted more than three hours with 51 people testifying - 25 in favor of the proposal, 26 against.

The hot topic June 23, 2008, was whether the city should remove street parking along one side of Cornwall Avenue to make room for a bike lane in each direction. The City Council approved the idea, but saved 21 parking spots on Cornwall close to downtown.

In the end, 69 parking spaces were removed on the west side of Cornwall from Ohio to West Illinois streets. A year later, here's how people's hopes and fears and have played out on the ground.

SAFETY WOULD WORSEN

Foes said removing parking would tempt motorists to drive faster on the 25-mph street. Police Sgt. David Richards said speeding often increases after a road is repaved, and Cornwall was no different, especially in the blocks between Alabama Street and West Illinois.

A police survey in fall 2008 confirmed a problem with speeders during the morning, lunch and after-work rush hours, with the bulk of drivers going 33 to 34 mph, Richards said. In response, police stepped up enforcement.

Officers handed out 63 traffic citations from early June 2008 to late August 2009; seven times as many as were given during a similar time period two years earlier.

"We work the complaint until we see we've made a dent," Richards said.

Some people feared the bike lanes would increase mishaps between bikers and drivers, especially by intersections.

The city has said two crashes involving a bicycle occurred on Cornwall from 2004 to 2007.

So far, no bicycle or pedestrian accidents have been reported on Cornwall since the changes, said Steve Haugen, traffic operations engineer for the city.

BICYCLE USE WOULD GROW

One reason for the change was to encourage more people to travel by bike instead of by car.

The city doesn't have figures on bicycle usage on Cornwall before the changes, but a tally of bikers at Cornwall and Alabama in fall 2008 will provide a benchmark for the future.

Anecdotal comments suggest bicyclists like the changes and are using Cornwall more.

"I've heard nothing but positive things from students about the bicycle lanes," said James Yoos, who teaches a bicycle maintenance class at Bellingham High School.

Hugh Conroy often bikes home on Cornwall from his job at Whatcom Council of Governments. He likes the new Cornwall for two reasons: "Partly for the lanes, partly for the smoothness."

BUSINESSES WOULD SUFFER

Several speakers said removing street parking would hurt businesses. Some businesses on Cornwall have driveways or parking lots.

For two that didn't - Cosmic Comics and, next door, Echo Newspaper - the city installed recessed street parking.

"It's not too bad," said Joe Peters, manager of Cosmic Comics.

However, some residents say delivery vehicles sometimes stop in the bike lane while doing business, and mobile workers such as roofers and painters have a harder time finding a place to park.

RESIDENTS WOULD SUFFER

While the city provided recessed street parking for a house at 2425 Cornwall Ave., foes said the loss of parking would be especially painful in the residential blocks between Alabama and West Illinois.

Nancy Heyer teaches piano at her house at 2517 Cornwall Ave., so her students now must park farther away or park on the other side of Cornwall and cross the sometimes-busy street.

"That's a very big safety concern for me," she said.

Her husband, Doug, also is a musician, and older people often come to their house to practice, some of them toting cellos or tubas. Heyer said the quality of life at their house has dropped a notch.

"We cannot provide safety and convenience to get people to our front door," he said.