The Bellingham Transportation Commission's November 12th meeting unfolded as an intensive working session on the city's most consequential cycling infrastructure project in years: the Holly Street bike lane corridor. What began as a routine Tuesday evening gathering in the Pacific Street Operations Center quickly transformed into a deep technical discussion about how to balance competing demands for street space along one of downtown's busiest thoroughfares. ## Meeting Overview Commission Chair Addie Kinsey called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM sharp, with all commissioners present except Tim Wilder, who abstained from voting on the October minutes. The agenda was streamlined — October minutes approval, the substantial Holly Street presentation, a brief discussion of the 2026 meeting calendar, and staff updates. But it was clear from the outset that the Holly Street project would dominate the evening. City staff assembled an impressive technical team for the presentation: Freeman "Fritz" Anthony, the capital engineer shepherding the project, flanked by Public Works Director Joel Pfundt, traffic engineers Tim Hohmann and Connor Harron, and planning staff Dylan Casper. Their presence signaled the complexity and significance of what's being proposed along Holly Street. ## Public Voices: Setting the Stakes Two members of the public set the tone before the formal presentation began. Miles Silverman, speaking from Wisconsin but residing in Cordata, advocated for more pedestrian and cycling infrastructure citywide, specifically suggesting trail networks through Birchwood's planned infill development areas. His vision: interconnected pathways that would serve as "sort of alleyways for people walking or biking, but not people driving." But it was Alex Lopez's detailed commentary that previewed many of the evening's key tensions. Lopez, who lives in the York neighborhood and frequently bikes downtown, delivered a sophisticated three-minute critique of the current pilot project's design. "I'm disappointed that the latest design shifts from a parking protected to a buffered bike lane design between State Street and Bay Street," he said, citing research showing parking-protected lanes are safer and more comfortable for cyclists. Lopez's concerns — about the "zigzag bike lane shifts" creating confusion for drivers, speed bumps catching cyclists off guard in wet conditions, and the need for protected intersection designs — would resurface repeatedly throughout the evening's technical discussion. ## The Holly Street Challenge: "The Corridor That Does It All" Freeman Anthony opened his presentation by characterizing Holly Street as "the corridor that does it all" — moving high volumes of vehicles while accommodating downtown retail, dining, and pedestrian activity. This multiplicity of functions, he explained, has made Holly the subject of numerous studies over the years, with the current effort representing the most comprehensive attempt yet to create truly safe cycling infrastructure along the entire corridor from Lakeway to Broadway. The project's evolution tells a story of incremental progress and hard-won lessons. Anthony traced the timeline from the 2014 Bike Master Plan through the 2023-2024 pilot project, emphasizing how each phase taught the city something about how cycling facilities function on such a complex street. The pilot project, installed in May 2024, has already recorded nearly 100,000 bicycle trips — over 400 cyclists per day during peak summer months. "We learned a lot about how that type of facility functions in the Holly Street corridor," Anthony said of the pilot, "but in keeping with the Bicycle Master Plan, which gives you direction in most cases, we always have to apply those, sort of, on the ground." ## Community Priorities: Safety First, Parking Last The extensive community engagement process revealed telling priorities among Bellingham residents. Over 300 survey respondents ranked pedestrian safety and accessibility as their top concern, followed by vehicle traffic flow and bicycle safety. Parking ranked dead last — a finding that would become crucial as staff revealed the extent to which most alternatives require significant parking removal. "The bigger the circle, the more people said that this is my number one priority," Anthony explained, displaying bubble charts that visualized community preferences. But Connor Harron added important context about the survey's limitations, noting a technical glitch meant they couldn't segment responses by neighborhood or trip purpose, limiting their ability to understand how different groups prioritized different values. Commissioner Aaron Miller pressed this point: "If you're driving through the corridor, what do you prefer? Do you prefer what you would think you'd prefer, like some of those other values, and not so much the placemaking, for example, where you might prefer that if you're going downtown to shop?" ## The Technical Reality: Level of Traffic Stress 2 The heart of the presentation focused on achieving "Level of Traffic Stress 2" — a technical standard that measures how nervous or comfortable different types of cyclists feel on various facilities. This isn't about accommodating only confident cyclists who will ride anywhere, Anthony explained, but rather creating infrastructure comfortable for the "interested but concerned" — people who want to bike but need safer conditions to do so. "I was thinking about who is that target person," Anthony reflected, "and I think about, basically, a first-year Western student who has, you know, who knows where they're from, and they've got a bike, and they're now in a town, maybe they're in a larger town than they're used to." The technical challenge becomes clear when examining current conditions. Most of Bellingham's existing bike lanes are "Level of Traffic Stress 3" — usable but stressful. Even buffered bike lanes remain at this stress level if cars must cross through them to reach parking. Achieving the safer Level of Traffic Stress 2 requires physical separation between cars and bikes. ## Six Segments, Six Sets of Challenges Staff divided Holly Street into six distinct segments, each presenting unique geometric and operational challenges: **Gateway and Downtown (Segments 1-2):** These areas already have pilot bike facilities, but staff showed several alternatives for improvement, including transit islands to reduce bus-bike conflicts and protected intersections with raised curbs and dedicated cyclist movements. "We don't have this type of facility there now, but it's something that the study called out as not a bad place to put some resources," Anthony said of transit islands. **Bay to Champion (Segment 3):** This short stretch emerged as "probably our biggest head-scratcher throughout this whole design process." The complexity stems from the intersection at Bay Street and Prospect, where heavy right-turn traffic creates dangerous conflicts with cyclists. Staff's solution: dedicated bike signals that give cyclists their own phase separate from vehicle movements. "This is, like, pretty new stuff, right, for us," Anthony acknowledged. Even more dramatically, staff is considering converting this section to one-way vehicle traffic, forcing eastbound cars up Champion Street instead. "You're going to force all your eastbound vehicle traffic up onto Champion, which is fine, because people should be going up there anyways," Anthony explained, though he acknowledged this represents a "challenging bit of a movement." **Whatcom Creek to F Street (Segments 4-6):** These western sections have enough right-of-way width to accommodate separated bike lanes, but at a cost: parking would have to be removed from both sides of the street. "You cannot get a level of traffic stress 2 without taking parking from both sides," Anthony stated flatly. "If you take it from one side, and you do two 5-foot bike lanes next to traffic, that just doesn't achieve what the comp plan is asking for in these areas." ## The Numbers Game: $3 Million and Counting Public Works Director Joel Pfundt outlined the project's financial reality. The city has allocated $3 million for the Holly Street improvements, money that Pfundt believes could fund separated bicycle facilities from Bay Street to Broadway. "I feel pretty confident that I could get a separated cycle facility from Bay all the way to Broadway with 2 million," he said, "and it would be separated, and it might be curb-separated." But the $3 million represents just the starting point. More elaborate improvements — grade-separated facilities that put cyclists at pedestrian level, extensive intersection hardening, significant placemaking elements — could easily cost $6 million or more. "If you put grade-separated bike lanes on the whole thing and did all a lot of stuff, you could spend 6 pretty easily," Pfundt noted. The funding conversation highlighted a strategic approach: prioritize connectivity first, amenities second. "I like the idea of looking at the segments, basically looking at everything that has nothing, and that's kind of the focus, is finishing the facility and making those links," Pfundt said. Additional improvements to already-functioning sections could come later as funding allows. ## Parking: The Unavoidable Trade-off Perhaps no issue generated more discussion than parking. Every alternative staff presented showed significant parking impacts, particularly in the western sections of the corridor. Commissioner Riley Grant pressed for specifics: "How many parking spots, if you were to eliminate parking on the north side of the entire stretch of Holly, how many parking spots is that?" Staff couldn't provide exact numbers, but the broader context emerged through discussion. Anthony noted that downtown Bellingham studies show 85% of the time, people can find parking within two blocks of their destination. Yet the perception of parking scarcity often outweighs the reality. Commissioner Aaron Miller suggested this perception problem could undermine public support: "I think that presentation of parking utilization is a little misleading, because I think it says that there is a parking problem in those areas... when we look at how we measure parking utilization, we usually look at an area and we say 80% is about what you want." ## Transit and Equity: Unresolved Questions Commissioner Tim Wilder, representing Whatcom Transportation Authority, raised concerns about how the project might impact bus service. Several WTA routes serve the Holly corridor, and changes that create delays could affect route schedules and service reliability. "If it does result in significant bus delays, that adds to the cost, that adds to the potential that the service doesn't actually work, given the run times," Wilder observed. Staff acknowledged they haven't yet conducted detailed analysis of bus impacts, though their traffic modeling includes all vehicle types. Future phases will require closer coordination with WTA to understand and mitigate potential service disruptions. ## Old Town: A Vision of Car-Free Commerce One of the most striking proposals involves the Old Town section, where staff envisions a completely different relationship between bikes, cars, and commerce. Working with the Old Town development team, the city plans to remove all on-street parking from Holly through this area while creating abundant off-street parking on side streets. Anthony shared a telling conversation with a local business owner: "I talked to the individual owner, the owner of Structures, and he was kind of said, you know, I like the idea of... he liked the grade-separated bike lanes, because in his mind, it really created this whole space in front of his business. Yes, he couldn't park a few vehicles there, but it almost, for him, became more of a destination itself." This vision aligns with broader urbanist thinking about how removing cars can actually improve retail environments by creating more pleasant spaces for pedestrians and cyclists to linger and shop. ## Protected Intersections: The Safety Revolution Much of the technical discussion centered on "protected intersections" — a relatively new concept in American street design that uses raised curbs and dedicated cyclist movements to eliminate many of the conflict points between bikes and turning vehicles. Unlike traditional intersections where cyclists must merge with traffic or navigate complex movements, protected intersections allow straight-through bicycle movement while forcing drivers to make tighter, slower turns. Commissioner Jonathan Eagle asked about safety ratings for different intersection treatments. While staff couldn't point to standardized safety metrics, Anthony explained their approach: "We try to look at it in terms of conflict points, and this takes a conflict point out that the previous one doesn't have." The intersection designs become more complex at arterial crossings like Bay and Cornwall, where heavy traffic volumes and multiple turning movements require careful choreography of different modes. Some may require dedicated traffic signals for cyclists — a significant departure from current operations. ## The Statewide Context: Grant Opportunities and Political Support Staff outlined several potential funding sources beyond the city's $3 million commitment, including Transportation Improvement Board grants, federal bicycle and pedestrian grants, and safety grants tied to the city's road safety plan. But the grant application process will require a clear preferred alternative and solid cost estimates. The political context appears favorable. Pfundt noted "a lot of support, both from Council and the Mayor, to really do a great project, and to not shortchange that effort." This backing could prove crucial if the project's costs exceed initial estimates or if community opposition emerges around parking removal. ## The Connectivity Imperative Commissioner Jamin Agosti articulated what may be the project's most important principle: creating a cohesive corridor with consistent stress levels for cyclists traveling the full length of Holly Street. "When I look at this corridor, the thing that's at the top of my mind is, is it going to be a cohesive corridor with a consistent level of stress for a user that can get from the top to the bottom?" he asked. This connectivity principle emerged repeatedly in the discussion. Rather than creating a patchwork of different facility types with varying comfort levels, the goal is continuous protection that works for the "interested but concerned" cyclists the project aims to serve. "Having a separated bike lane the entire length after 18 years of study on Holly would be a great outcome," Agosti concluded, "and having... putting in a lot of money, no matter where this project goes, for something that doesn't deliver that would be disappointing from my perspective." ## Next Steps: Public Process and Hard Choices Staff outlined an ambitious timeline for 2026: complete the quantitative analysis comparing all alternatives, select a preferred alternative, conduct public outreach in the first quarter, and begin construction planning for a 2027 build-out. The public engagement process will be crucial. Freeman Anthony has already begun one-on-one conversations with affected businesses, particularly in areas facing the most dramatic changes. "I've talked directly with the climbing wall folks, and then basically, cabin structures, Waterfront Tavern, and Old Town Cafe," he reported. But the real test will come when staff present their preferred alternative to the broader community. The challenge will be communicating complex technical concepts — Level of Traffic Stress, protected intersections, modal conflict points — while addressing legitimate concerns about parking, traffic flow, and business impacts. ## The Bigger Picture: Bellingham's Transportation Future As the evening wound down, commissioners touched on broader issues facing the transportation system. Chair Addie Kinsey noted she'd completed the Whatcom Council of Governments household travel survey, part of ongoing regional transportation planning. Staff reported the Bellingham Plan — the city's new comprehensive plan — was heading to City Council for final adoption the following Monday. These parallel processes reflect Bellingham's broader transportation transition. The Holly Street project isn't just about one corridor; it's a test case for how the city will implement its stated goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving public health, and creating more livable neighborhoods. ## Closing Reflections: Infrastructure as Community Building The meeting concluded with an announcement that captured some of the evening's themes. Commissioner Cindy Dennis reported that the recent Walk and Roll Thanksgiving event had attracted over 130 participants and raised $8,000 for the Food Bank. "I was told that we filled up all the bike racks at all of the grocery stores in town," she noted with satisfaction, "which is not a hard hill to climb, because there's not [many bike racks]." This gentle humor highlighted both the progress Bellingham has made in cycling infrastructure and how much work remains. The Holly Street project represents the largest single investment in cycling infrastructure in the city's history, but its success will be measured not just in technical specifications or ridership numbers, but in how well it serves the community's broader goals of equity, sustainability, and livability. As commissioners filed out just before 9:00 PM, the weight of the decisions ahead was palpable. Staff will spend the next several months crunching numbers and refining designs, but ultimately, the Transportation Commission and City Council will need to make fundamental choices about how Bellingham's most important street serves all its users in the decades ahead.