Bike lanes, safer crossings planned for downtown Bellingham’s busiest street
City Council members unanimously approved a plan Monday to add bike lanes and make pedestrian crossings safer through downtown Bellingham in a summer-long trial along the commercial district’s busiest street.
According to the plan, one of three traffic lanes of Holly Street will be removed through the commercial core from Ellis Street to Bay Street. No parking will be lost, according to a description of the project that was discussed in a City Council committee meeting Monday afternoon.
Eric Johnston, director of the Public Works Department, said the plan was aimed at making it easier for bike riders and people on foot by slowing traffic through downtown.
“This is for those who are not currently riding their bikes downtown, to make them more comfortable about doing it,” Johnston told the council’s Public Works and Natural Resources Committee.
Here’s how it will work:
▪ A buffered bike lane — using painted pavement only — is planned on Holly Street from Ellis to State streets, and traffic will be reduced from three lanes to two.
▪ A “parking-protected bike lane” is planned on Holly Street from State to Bay streets, meaning that the bike lane will run next to the curb with cars parking on the left of the bike lane. That’s designed to protect bicyclists from traffic. Traffic lanes will be reduced from three to two.
▪ Crosswalk signals will be timed to allow a “leading pedestrian interval,” meaning that people on sidewalks walking parallel to traffic will be able to start crossing a few seconds before drivers get a green light. It’s considered a way to keep drivers who are turning from hitting pedestrians.
About 12,000 drivers use Holly Street from Ellis to Bay streets each day, according to a 2023 city traffic count.
Holly Street has a 25 mph speed limit, but drivers typically go faster on the one-way street that heads downhill through the commercial core.
The estimated cost of the project is $55,000, with construction set to start early next month.
Jamin Agosti of the group Walk and Roll Bellingham said the move will make things safer for for both cyclists and people on foot. But he said that he hopes that the parking protected bike lanes will be added on the full length of Holly Street.
Even so, “the segment of Holly from State to Bay represents a serious improvement,” Agosti told The Bellingham Herald in a phone interview.
Several City Council members praised the proposal during committee discussions Monday afternoon.
“It turns out to be less tricky than I thought. I think that there will be some grumpy people and some who are grateful,” Councilman Michael Lilliquist said.
Joel Pfundt, assistant director of the Public Works Department’s Transportation Division, told the council that the project will be evaluated using public input after several months.
“We want to try this out and see what the community thinks of it and how it operates in the midst of downtown,” Pfundt said.
