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Transportation Commission

BEL-TRC-2024-11-12 November 12, 2024 Transportation Commission City of Bellingham
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The Transportation Commission meeting focused on three major items: the Barkley Urban Village development proposal, approval of the Community Streets Program, and evaluation of the Holly Street bike lane pilot project. The commission approved the Community Streets Program after years of development, marking a significant milestone in the city's approach to neighborhood-level traffic safety. The Holly Street pilot project evaluation revealed both successes and challenges, with dramatically increased bike ridership but significant design concerns from the community. The Barkley Urban Village presentation introduced commissioners to planned transportation infrastructure for the city's largest upcoming development. The meeting demonstrated ongoing tensions between different transportation modes and the complexities of implementing multimodal infrastructure in an established downtown core.

**Resolution 2024-05 - Community Streets Program:** Approved 8-0. The commission endorsed the program after multiple meetings refining the approach. The program establishes a rotating four-year cycle serving 25% of the city annually, with up to 25 location studies per year and a $200,000 annual construction budget. Staff recommendation matched commission action. This creates the first systematic neighborhood traffic safety progra…

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**Community Streets Program Development:** After years of refinement, staff presented the final version of what was formerly called the Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program. Commissioner Shane raised concerns about the arbitrary 25-project cap, advocating for flexibility to exceed this number when capacity allows. Staff explained the cap reflects current staffing limitations and the complexity of data collection windows. The discussion revealed tension between program ambition and resource constraints, with staff noting thousands of potential projects exist but the program can only address a small fraction annually. **Holly Street Bike Lane Evaluation:** The pilot project data showed mixed results - substantial increases in bike ridership (33% overall, with some intersections seeing nearly double the volume) but significant community opposition. Staff reported over 1,100 survey responses and extensive negative feedback about visibility issue…
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**Aiden Woods:** Public commenter advocated for more bike lanes citywide, specifically mentioning dangerous conditions when traveling north in the city. Expressed support for making Holly Street bike lane permanent. **Sarah Burch:** Introduced herself as interested in serving on the commission when vacancies occur. Emphasized multimodal transportation experience from living in other cities. **Talbot Group (Ben Besley, John Mullen):** Presented their commitment to public-private partnership and creating an exemplary urban village. Emphasized tree preservation, multimodal connectivity, and willingness to work closely with city staff. John Mullen noted 16,…
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**Joel Pfundt, on Holly Street data:** "The volumes demonstrate that Holly Street is now the highest-traveled bike corridor in the downtown area, with ridership more than 44% higher than the next highest route." **Commissioner Shane, on Community Streets Program caps:** "I don't think it makes any sense to arbitrarily cap this at 25 projects if the situation arises where we can, we have the capacity to do the work." **Shane Sullivan, on signal timing constraints:** "We had to avoid that cond…
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**Holly Street Project:** Staff will present similar evaluation to City Council in December/January 2025. Interim design changes planned for spring 2025, with final capital project design beginning in 2025. The project may extend beyond Bay Street to include additional blocks. **Community Streets Program:** Implementation begins immediately with community engagement planning for the first service area. Staff will develop the annual engagement plan and begin the four-year rotation cycle. **Barkley Urban Village:** The Talbot Group expects to return to the Transportation Commission …

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**Community Streets Program officially adopted:** After multiple years of development and refinement, the city now has its first systematic neighborhood traffic safety program since 2009, with dedicated funding and staffing. **Holly Street bike lane evaluation complete:** The pilot phase concluded with clear data showing increased ridership but community opposition, setting the stage for redesign rather than removal. **Signal timing partially restored:** Removal of streeteries betwe…
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# Transportation Commission Tackles Urban Growth and Downtown Bike Infrastructure ## Meeting Overview The Transportation Commission convened on November 12, 2024 at the Pacific Street Operations Center for a packed evening addressing two major development initiatives shaping Bellingham's transportation future. With commissioners attending both in-person and virtually, the meeting covered the sprawling Barkley Urban Village development plans, the long-debated Community Streets Program, and detailed findings from the controversial Holly Street bike lane pilot project. Chair Addie Candib presided over what would prove to be a substantive discussion about how the city balances competing transportation needs as it grows. The evening's agenda reflected the ongoing tensions between accommodating vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, and transit in an increasingly dense urban environment. ## Barkley Urban Village Transportation Vision The meeting opened with an ambitious presentation from the Talbot Group about their plans for Barkley Urban Village, a development that promises to be one of Bellingham's most significant urban planning initiatives. Ben Besley, the company's CEO, and project manager John Moullen laid out their vision alongside Amalia Leighton Cody from Toole Design Group, who presented the transportation framework via Zoom. "We've spent a tremendous amount of time," Moullen explained, describing the years-long planning process. "One of the goals, especially over the last five or six years when Stowe and Jane have gotten more involved, have been really this commitment of trying to do an urban village that not only is sustainable but is something that can be an example for the Northwest and how we can do things better." The development team has taken an unusual approach to road planning, prioritizing existing forest preservation over typical engineering efficiency. As Moullen noted, most developers would ask "what's the cheapest and best path through here for the r…
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### Meeting Overview The City of Bellingham Transportation Commission met on November 12, 2024, to discuss three major items: an overview of Barkley Urban Village transportation planning, approval of the Community Streets Program, and findings from the Holly Street bike lane pilot project. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Barkley Urban Village:** A planned development that must meet Growth Management Act requirements through a sub-area plan, development agreement, and planned action ordinance to become a formal urban village. **Community Streets Program:** Bellingham's renewed neighborhood traffic safety initiative that rotates through four geographic areas of the city annually, evaluating up to 25 locations per cycle for traffic improvements. **Parking Protected Bike Lane:** A bicycle facility that uses parked cars as a physical barrier between cyclists and moving traffic, tested on Holly Street from State Street to Bay Street. **Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs):** Traffic signals that give pedestrians a 3-7 second head start before vehicles get a green light, reducing pedestrian-vehicle crashes. **Modal Split:** The percentage breakdown of how people choose to travel (by car, bicycle, transit, walking, etc.) in a given area. **Lane Utilization Rate:** The percentage of cyclists who choose to ride in the designated bike lane versus mixing with traffic in vehicle lanes. **Right Hook Conflicts:** Dangerous situations where right-turning vehicles and through-moving cyclists intersect, often due to visibility issues. **Cycle Length:** The total time for a complete traffic signal sequence, which was increased from 56 seconds to 128 seconds on Holly Street to manage congestion. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Addie Candib | Transportation Commission Chair | | Ben Besley | CEO, Talbot Group | | John Moullen | Talbot Group representative | | Amalia Leighton Cody | Planner/Engineer, Toole Design Group | | Shane Sullivan | City Public Works staff | | Natalie Monro | City Public Works staff | | Mike Wilson | City staff | | Darby Galligan | City Planning staff | ### Background Context **Barkley Urban Village** represents a significa…
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Transportation & Infrastructure Land Use & Planning Government Operations RESOLUTION 2024 05 Bellingham Public Works Talbot Group Toole Design Transportation Commission Wta Addie Candib Aiden Woods Amalia Leighton Cody Ben Besley Jamin Agosti Joel Pfundt John Mullen Keith Moore Natalie Monro Sarah Burch Shane Sullivan Tim Wilder Bike Infrastructure Budget Finance Community Engagement Community Streets Program Comprehensive Plan Downtown Development Holly Street Intersection Design Multimodal Transportation Parking Protected Lanes Public Comment Signal Timing Traffic Safety Transit Impacts Tree Preservation Urban Village Development