TRANSPORTATION Downloads Transportation Priority form - Submit your feedback here Full text of Draft 3 for neighborhood review, including maps

Committee chair & vice chair: and

The Transportation committee has produced a detailed set of proposals and recommendations for all things transportation-related in Sehome. From improved bike and pedestrian markings to neighborhood preferences about the size of roadways, their impressive draft merits a close read.

Mark your priorities!

Please come to the meeting with your top 3 priorities for the Transportation section identified. We've posted a downloadable Transportation Priority form here for you to use as a worksheet. You can refer to either the summary in the newsletter or to the full text of the draft, which includes the rationale behind each proposal.

Why is it important?

• Many of the items indicate our preference that certain streets NOT change - including this policy in our Neighborhood Plan will give critical support against any future road widening that Sehome doesn't want to see. With the waterfront and downtown developing, it's critical that Sehome doesn't ever become just an area to zoom through on your way somewhere else. By providing constructive proposals about how these increased traffic and parking needs can be accomodated, we can work with the City to find solutions that don't degrade our neighborhood.
• When the city makes decisions about where and how to spend money on transporation infrastructure, they weigh a lot of factors. There's never nearly enough money for all improvements that people in Bellingham want, so it's a highly competitive process to have funding allocated for work in our neighborhood. We can elevate our chances of getting much-needed improvements by making a solid case with clear priorities in our Neighborhood Plan. This spring, we got the Forest Street bike lane (with car lanes reduced to two from the current three) added into the City's transportation budget plans! (Thanks to the Bike/Pedestrian committee for their work getting that into the Comprehensive Plan.) For more progress like that, we will have to be sure our transportation-related items are soundly supported in the Neighborhood plan update.
• It's important to read it to be sure you agree with it! This is a very detailed set of proposals, and it's been crafted with the best understanding we have of the neighborhood's wishes. But if some of the "how" doesn't match up with what you imagined when we asked you "what" you wanted, it's important that you let us know now!