Here’s the latest street that’s getting wide bike lanes in Bellingham
This summer, Samish Way will get the same wide bike lanes that have been appearing around Bellingham, part of the city’s commitment to connecting its neighborhoods for bicyclists, bus riders and people on foot — as well as in cars.
That means the road known as Samish, then Maple, then Ellis streets will lose one lane for cars in each direction from Interstate 5 to Lakeway Drive, said Chris Comeau, transportation planner.
Buffered bike lanes are planned along Samish-Maple-Ellis streets, similar to the ones recently installed on Chestnut Street downtown and along Barkley Boulevard. Intersections and driveways will be marked in green to give bicyclists greater visibility, according to the plans.
In addition, a flashing crosswalk will be built across Bill McDonald Parkway between the Haggen grocery store entrance and 35th Street, at a busy Whatcom Transportation Authority bus stop, Comeau wrote in an email.
“All of these bicycle and pedestrian improvements are especially important given the growth and development that is occurring along North Samish Way with more development already in the permit review pipeline,” Comeau wrote.
Traffic volumes vary from 13,000 to 15,000 vehicles per day, according to city data.
Currently, the intersection of Samish Way and Bill McDonald Parkway presents a challenge for cyclists headed toward downtown or Western Washington University from the Puget neighborhood.
Comeau wrote that the cost and timeline for the Samish Way project depends on the bidding process, which is underway.
Construction likely will start in July and end in August, said Amy Cloud, spokeswoman for the Public Works Department.
The project will cost about $1.2 million, with a majority of the funds coming from a state Department of Transportation grant, Cloud wrote in an email.
According to a summary of the project published in 2018 at the city’s website, the goal is to reduce collisions, improve bike and pedestrian safety, and ”improve the streetscape environment” along the three-quarter-mile stretch of Samish-Maple-Ellis streets from Bill McDonald Parkway to Lakeway Drive.
Comeau wrote that residents in the Sehome, York and Puget neighborhoods — as well as businesses and community groups — have been shown the scope of the work in presentations that show how it links with larger plans for development in the Samish Way Urban Village, a designated city zoning area.
For example, the Bellingham Housing Authority is proposing 160 low-income and senior apartments at the former Aloha Motel site on Samish between Abbott and Otis streets.
“This is how we’ve been integrating land-use and transportation plans together here in Bellingham for the past 15 years with tremendous success compared to many other places in Washington,” Comeau wrote.
