Bellingham Enhanced Pedestrian Crossing

Bellingham Intersection of Grant and Lakeway

The City of Bellingham has announced the construction of an enhanced pedestrian crossing allowing a pedestrian to cross  Lakeway Dr at Grant St.  In addition to the crosswalk  there will be what’s called a pedestrian refuge at the road median (a safe haven for us pedestrians who are having second thoughts about walking across Lakeway during rush hour), an overhead crossing arm with flashing warning lights and traffic channelization changes.  What the “Channalization Changes” amount to is this.  If you are driving eastbound on Lakeway, you will no longer be allowed to turn left headed south on Grant St.  You will only be allowed a right hand turn onto Grant St.  For those on Grant St, you will only be allowed a right hand turn onto Lakeway.

These enhanced pedestrian crossings will provide safer opportunities for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders to cross some of Bellingham’s busiest arterial streets.  The citywide bicycle and pedestrian network will be enhanced with additional connectivity, which is likely to encourage additional use of alternative modes of transportation.  Residential neighborhoods will benefit with safer crossings to shopping centers, parks, and employment opportunities, which may encourage residents to walk more.

This annual program constructs pedestrian crosswalk enhancements on arterial streets. Public Works evaluates pedestrian crosswalk requests from Neighborhood Associations and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and prioritizes locations with significant pedestrian demand so that crosswalks will be installed where they will be most efficient, effective, and convenient for pedestrians. Full funding has been identified to construct pedestrian crossings in 2009 at the following locations:

Northwest/Maplewood
North Samish/Newell
Lakeway/Grant
Alabama/Grant
York/Railroad

 It would appear as though other cities throughout the United States are using this same approach to solve their traffic problems by employing more pedestrian friendly measures.   A new pedestrian crosswalk is being debuted on Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles.

If you have any questions about this project, call Rory Routhe at 360-778-7900.

If you have any thoughts you’d like to share about this project feel free to make a comment in our Comments Section.  We can all learn from other’s experiences.