Bellingham Bike Master Plan Update

While the entire Bicycle Master Plan will be updated, the most significant updates will be for infrastructure projects, policies and programmatic actions. This Story Map will walk you through the latest draft of these elements.

Scroll down to move through each section or use the tabs above to skip ahead to each section. There will be a brief survey at the end of the Recommended Bicycle Network, Draft Policies, and Program Actions sections where you can give feedback.

The City of Bellingham has successfully implemented over half (52%) of the projects listed in the 2014 Bicycle Master Plan (BMP). This plan update reflects the tremendous progress the City has made with implementation over the past ten years and it identifies projects, policies, and actions that will guide continued progress in making Bellingham an even better place to bike for more people. Specifically, the goals of the BMP update are: 

1. Safety - Improve bicyclist and micromobility user safety and comfort through well-designed bikeways and by promoting safe driving, walking, and bicycling behaviors.
2. Equity - Build a bicycle network for people all ages and abilities by prioritizing investments in underserved communities.
3. Connectivity - Complete a citywide network of bikeways that connect people of all ages and abilities to homes, jobs, shopping, schools, transit, services, and recreation areas.
4. Increase Ridership - Increase the percentage of trips made by bicycle and micromobility to support Bellingham’s Climate Action Plan and promote a healthy Bellingham.

The proposed bike network reflects input from Bellingham residents, the Transportation Commission, advocacy organizations, and City staff. The Bellingham Bicycle Master Plan update aims to: 

• Provide a high-comfort bicycling experience for people of all ages and abilities. 
• Improve bicycle connectivity throughout the City of Bellingham and its Urban Growth Area. 
• Develop a list of projects that the City can realistically and feasibly implement over the next 10 years while also identifying important projects that may take longer than 10 years to implement. 

The recommended bicycle network consists of 81 miles of new connections and 25 miles of upgrades to existing bikeways.

Project recommendations were derived from a variety of factors which were combined to identify design solutions and feasibility. The factors considered include a technical needs analysis, comments from the public, and engineering industry standards. In all there are 106 miles of linear projects and 29 spot improvement projects. There are also 13.5 miles of new off-street trails that would help connect up the bikeway network in many parts of the city. These trails will be built as new development happens and as part of larger capital projects.

For a full list of all the projects, please click the following links:

•  Linear Route Recommendations 
•  Spot Improvement Recommendations  

Due to practical and fiscal limitations, not all projects can be implemented at once. Creating a prioritized project list based on objective and transparent criteria helps the City program its funding for bicycle projects. This ranking should not be viewed as a mandate to complete projects in a particular order, but rather a decision-making tool to measure which projects best meet the overall goals of the bicycle master plan. Project order will depend on many factors, including budget/cost, local funds and state/federal grant funding availability, active development, community benefits, and other implementation opportunities.

The prioritization is based on a point system, wherein each criterion earns a project a certain number of points and the sum of those points determines where projects are ranked.

1. Safety - potential to reduce crashes and to lower the level of traffic stress for cyclists
2. Equity - proximity to low-income households, populations under 18 years old, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color populations, and affordable housing units
3. Connectivity - proximity to parks, trails, schools, Urban Villages, transit stops; and connections to low-stress network
4. Trip Potential - proximity to housing units, and proximity to employment centers

For more details on scoring criteria and methodology, please read the  Bicycle Network Prioritization Framework .

The following draft policies will be a key feature of the Bicycle Master Plan. Policies reflect input received from the public and Transportation Commission, best practices, and are intended to be strategic in terms of what is most likely to “move the needle” towards achieving Plan goals and what the City and its partners may be able to achieve given available resources. They are NOT intended to be a laundry list of ideas that may or may not have implementation potential.

The following actions are intended to support and grow the bicycling culture and increase the number of people bicycling and using micomobility in Bellingham through education, encouragement and infrastructure strategies.

Continue public education efforts around road safety building on the  Travel with Care  and  Protecting Mobility for All  efforts. Promote and support programming offered by the  Smart Trips , including bicycle skills courses, 7 ^th  grade bus program, and Adventure Camp.  [Goal 1: Safety]

As Bellingham continues to improve its bicycle network, information should be provided to encourage the correct use of, and interaction with, bicycle facilities, particularly those that are newer and less familiar. Information on bicycle facilities should be distributed in multiple mediums so it is accessible to as many users as possible. This information should be posted on the City’s website and at key locations such as transit stations, schools, and higher education institutions. Another distribution method the City should consider is the use of quick response (QR) codes that direct users to resources on the internet. Temporary signs should be used alongside new facilities in order to educate users about proper use. [Goal 1: Safety]

Using WSDOT SRTS grant funding Bellingham has implemented Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs at a small number of schools. The program encourages students to bike and walk to school where they are not currently doing so, while making it safer for students who are already biking and walking. [Goal 1: Safety]

Safe Routes to School programs focus on educating students on safe bicycling (and walking) behavior and parents on safe driving behavior near schools, and building the infrastructure that facilitates safe walking and biking trips. The City should partner with the Bellingham School District and Whatcom Council of Governments, who currently offers bicycle skill courses through the  Smart Trips  program, to institutionalize SRTS programming in all schools.  Other SRTS strategies to consider include bike busses, school streets (closing streets directly adjacent to schools to cars), and designating drop off locations a short walking distance away from schools for parents who drive their children to school (e.g. “Drive to Five”) to reduce traffic volumes around schools for those children who walk or bicycle.

Routinely collect and analyze data to inform planning and design decisions. Building on annual crash data provided by WSDOT look at other potential data sources such as crowdsourced near-miss data, and video analytics to better understand safety issues. Safety risk and ridership may also be better understood with data on the number of people bicycling and using micromobilty. Invest in count equipment and “big data” to better understand how investments in bicycle infrastructure are contributing to ridership over time, as well as understand the crash rate, which is a more useful measure of crash risk. Count equipment may be deployed on an annual basis in key corridors throughout the city and for specific bicycle network investments to count bicyclists before and after a new bikeway is installed. Big data derived from mobile phone use can help understand trip length, purpose, and demographic profiles. [Goal 1: Safety; Goal 4: Increase Ridership]

Support and partner with organizations to deliver programs designed to encourage bicycling by women, people of color, people with disabilities, non-English speakers, low-income populations, seniors, and youth. Partnership may come in the form of micro-grants, providing material support for events, and/or dedicated staff time. [Goal 2: Equity]

Evaluate feasibility of establishing a bike and scooter share program in Bellingham. If bike and/or scooter share looks to be a feasible and cost-effective way to provide more equitable access to transportation in the community, establish programs and policies for their operations. The program and associated policies should address bike and scooter share parking; program performance monitoring and reporting; fee and cost recovery for any private program operators; minimum and maximum size of bike and scooter share fleet; customer education on safety and parking rules; system performance standards related to bike utilization, maintenance, repair and rebalancing; as well as designating the program service area. Any bikeshare program should also include adaptive bicycles and discounts for low-income residents. [Goal 2: Equity]

Support and promote rebate programs for e-bike ownership to increase use of e-bikes and broaden public awareness of using e-bikes as a sustainable, convenient, and affordable mode of transportation. Proactively participate in WSDOT’s e-bike rebate and lending library programs once established and explore mechanisms to establish a local or regional e-bike rebate program longer-term. Rebate programs should include higher rebates for low-income individuals or individuals with disabilities. [Goal 2: Equity]

Secure and convenient bike parking is a critical component of a bicycle network. It helps encourage people to bicycle for their everyday needs. To ensure bike parking is available where people need it is necessary for the City of Bellingham to proactively provide parking in the public right-of-way and at public facilities, and work with property owners and developers to ensure provision of bike parking that meet bicyclists’ needs. [Goal 4: Increase Ridership]

Bike parking needs vary depending on the type of bicycle trip being taken. For quick trips to shops and other destinations short-term parking such as bike racks placed in the public right-of-way or on private property (typically in the sidewalk or furniture zone or as bike corrals in the parking lane) directly adjacent to businesses and services provides convenience and sufficient security. More secure and sheltered bike parking should be provided in multi-family residential and commercial buildings where people living or working will store their bikes for long periods of time, including overnight. More secure and sheltered bike parking should also be provided where it can facilitate multimodal trips, e.g., at transit facilities and the airport. Long-term, secure parking includes pods, lockers, bike rooms, and bike cages.

All bike parking should accommodate bicycles of different sizes, including longer wheelbase cargo and children’s bikes. Longer-term parking should also include electric outlets for charging e-bikes.

To ensure bike parking needs are being met the City of Bellingham should:

• Update and expand City bicycle parking standards for new development to address type, size, and location of near-term and long-term bike parking facilities to ensure they are safe, secure and convenient for users.
• Establish a bike parking program tasked with the purchase and installation of bicycle parking in the public right-of-way. Parking should be installed proactively and at the request of businesses or community members.
• Explore vendors to partner in delivering secure parking kiosks or pods in public spaces.
• In shopping districts with on-street parking, evaluate converting no-parking zones immediately before an intersection into bike parking areas, thereby increasing the visibility of people walking, biking, and rolling across the street.
• Recognizing that older residential buildings may not be well set up to provide secure bike parking and that such parking can be an important factor for people using a bike to meet their daily needs, the City should work with existing multi-family property owners and homeowner associations to explore incentives or other mechanisms for providing on-site secure and convenient long-term bicycle parking. The City might work with WCOG or other partners to secure funding.
• Update development requirements to more explicitly require a minimum number of long-term secure bicycle parking spaces that meet industry best practices. In Urban Villages explore parking maximums and strategies to decouple the cost of parking from the cost of housing to incentivize bicycling, walking, and transit.
• Work with Bellingham Public Schools to install long-term and short-term bike parking at redeveloping or new schools and install short-term bike parking on other school sites.

Wayfinding encompasses all the ways in which people orient themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place. A wayfinding system designed specifically for bicyclists and micromobility users can aid navigation of the bike network. The main purpose of a wayfinding system is to connect people to the places they want to go and the best routes for getting there. Wayfinding can take the form of directional signage, mile markers, trail heads, informational signs, map kiosks, and pavement markings to reinforce signage. Route-specific branding on wayfinding signs can help the bike network be more legible to users. For example, cross-city routes, or routes that connect two specific destinations (e.g., Downtown to Barkley Urban Village) can be named or numbered or have unique plaques or coloring making them easy for bicyclists to follow. Wayfinding signage is a cost-effective way to help people feel more confident bicycling thereby increasing bicycle ridership.  [Goal 3: Connectivity]

Bellingham already has several programs and organizations that encourage bicycling, such as Whatcom Smart Trips, Walk and Roll Bellingham, The Adaptive and Inclusive Recreation Program of Whatcom County (AIROW), Mount Baker Bicycle Club, and other local organizations. Whatcom  Smart Trips  should continue its efforts to reach the general public and employers. This should include information and local examples of employers who offer incentives to encourage employees to bike to work, and special awards/recognition for local employers with successful bike commute programs. Whatcom Smart Trips may also play a role informing businesses about the League of American Bicyclists Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) recognition program. Local bicycle clubs and colleges could coordinate efforts to promote student bicycling through events and campaigns. [Goal 4: Increase Ridership]

Open Streets programs temporarily close streets to vehicle traffic so that people may use them for walking, bicycling, dancing, playing, roller skating, and more. They provide a safe space for people to ride and to learn just how easy it can be to get around on two wheels. Open Streets events encourage physical activity and social interaction and boost local businesses, including bicycle shops that may want to have bikes available for test riding and provide free tune-ups. They can be one-time events, weekly, or monthly, and are generally very popular and well-attended. The City should partner with other community agencies to develop a pilot event, using information and resources provided by the  Open Streets Project . [Goal 4: Increase Ridership]

Community members of Bellingham are passionate about making their City a safer place to bike and walk. Over the years, Bellingham has successfully implemented a multimodal approach to transportation planning and built out an extensive network of bicycle facilities. There is strong support for bicycling within the community. There is a desire from the public to see the City continue to build out a connected, safe, and comfortable network for people of all ages and abilities. 

The project team, which consisted of representatives from the City of Bellingham’s Public Works and Planning and Community Development Departments as well as a consultant team, started developing this plan in April 2023. Plan adoption is anticipated in March 2024. The Bellingham Transportation Commission, comprised of members with a range of perspectives and expertise, provided input and direction to the project team. The Bellingham community was engaged throughout the process through a variety of outreach and engagement methods including pop-ups, Technical Review Committees, a virtual opens house, a citywide survey and interactive webmap, a comment box at the library, and online through the EngageBellingham platform. Public outreach and engagement efforts offered opportunities for the Bellingham community to provide feedback on specific locations about issues of concern and preferred pedestrian improvements.

An unimproved right-of-way is defined as a public right-of-way that is not currently in use for transportation purposes. All of the unimproved rights-of-way in Bellingham and the Urban Growth area were screened for their feasibility of being improved, and utilized for the bike network. Read more about the process in this  memo explaining unimproved right-of-way analysis .

The community engagement plan aimed to be both open –to give the opportunity for the entire Bellingham community to share their thoughts – and targeted – to ensure that we engaged with community members whose work and everyday life is shaped by bicycle infrastructure, who have traditionally not had the chance to participate in previous planning efforts. Both in-person and virtual engagement methods were included to meet people where they were while maintaining a channel where they could share their thoughts at any time.

For a detailed breakdown of engagement findings, please read the  BMP Update Community Engagement Summary Report  draft from September 2023.

The Engage Bellingham platform was used throughout the engagement process as the “home base” where the community could keep up to date with the stages of the project and learn about ways to get involved. The platform also had a space for public comments. The Engage Bellingham platform also hosted key promotional messaging including an informative fact sheet and a video in English and Spanish that outlines the plan updates and how to get involved. The web map and survey were accessible via EngageBellingham.org.

An online survey was also conducted. Participants were offered a set of optional demographic questions as well as a suite of questions about their cycling experience in Bellingham and what they thought could be improved. The survey was available in hard-copy form for use by community members who did not have access to or preferred not to use a computer or other device to complete the survey. The survey was included alongside the webmap, and responses were collected from April 4 to May 31, 2023.

An interactive web map was created by the City of Bellingham, and the link was shared on Engage Bellingham to create a space for Bellingham residents to note the locations where they were facing issues or barriers to accessing key destinations while cycling and where they would like to see improvements. The web map also allowed people to see comments that other people had made and to explore the existing conditions. The webmap was open from April 4 to May 31, 2023.

A pop-up event at the Bellingham Bike Parade on May 7, 2023, was held by the City of Bellingham and Toole Design to raise awareness about the Bicycle Master Plan Update. Posterboards showing general information and goals of the plan update were displayed in both English and Spanish. There were printed maps for visitors to add comments to, corresponding with the online webmap. In addition, cards with a QR code to the Engage Bellingham website were distributed. The event also included a children’s activity to make bicycle and helmet decorations.

The project team convened a Technical Review Committee (TRC) comprised of community-based organizations whose work and daily life intersect with cycling in Bellingham. The TRC groups participating are listed below. During the TRC meetings, the project team provided a brief presentation on how and when the City is proposing to update the Bicycle Master Plan. General discussion took place based on a set of prepared questions. TRC members were also asked to make use of Engage Bellingham and the interactive map and survey as they refined their inputs.

• April 10, 2023: The Adaptive and Inclusive Recreation Project of Whatcom County (AIROW)
• April 17, 2023: Mount Baker Bicycle Club (MBBC)
• April 20, 2023: Walk and Roll Bellingham
• June 28, 2023: Bellingham Chamber of Commerce

Read more about the plan on the project  website .