Key Commitments
LOS C or better for county arterials/major collectors outside UGAs during weekday PM peak; LOS D or better within UGAs; LOS D for all county intersections; no more than two sailing waits during average weekday peak periods for Lummi Island ferry; quarterly ferry performance counts
Goals
(11 total)
- Goal 6A: Provide for safe and efficient movement of people and goods by establishing and maintaining standard levels of service for motor vehicle traffic.
- Goal 6B: Create a cost-effective transportation system that prioritizes safety, roadway preservation, and concurrency.
- Goal 6C: Ensure an efficient regional system of arterials and collectors that is functional, safe, and consistent with regional priorities.
- Goal 6D: Support land use planning efforts that include land use types and densities that reduce reliance on single-occupant vehicles.
- Goal 6E: Balance the needs of all users of all modes of transportation when planning and designing transportation facilities.
- Goal 6F: Develop a system of bicycle and pedestrian facilities that encourages enhanced community access and promotes healthy lifestyles.
- Goal 6G: Provide for safe, efficient movement of commercial vehicles.
- Goal 6H: Coordinate with other governmental agencies in planning the County's transportation system.
- Goal 6J: Construction and operation of transportation systems should avoid adverse environmental impacts, including impacts to wildlife, water quality, and adjacent residential areas.
- Goal 6K: Reduce the need for costly capacity-increasing roadway construction projects and minimize emissions from combustion of fossil fuels.
- Goal 6L: Provide for adequate funding to keep Whatcom County's transportation facilities in good condition and current in terms of capacity.
Stronger Policy Language (29 policies)
- Policy 6A-1: Establish the following levels of service (LOS) for purposes of maintaining transportation concurrency: LOS C or better outside UGAs, LOS D or better within UGAs for county arterials and major collectors.
- Policy 6B-1: Programming of transportation programs and improvements should prioritize upgrading of unsafe and/or structurally deficient facilities and preservation and maintenance of the existing transportation system over new capital improvements.
- Policy 6E-2: Use multimodal design in all new transportation facility improvement projects as well as roadway preservation and maintenance projects, unless physically or financially impracticable.
- Policy 6F-6: For commercial and residential developments within urban growth areas and rural communities, developers shall fund on-street walkways, paths, crosswalks, and other pedestrian accommodations.
- Policy 6J-2: When constructing new transportation systems, ensure that stormwater generated by the transportation system is treated prior to discharge to waterways used by salmonid fish populations.
- Policy 6L-2: In the event expected revenues and available funding fall short of the amount needed to meet identified needs the County shall work to resolve the shortfall during the annual review of the comprehensive plan.
Aspirational / Monitoring Language (22 policies)
- Policy 6A-5: Encourage extension of city concurrency review authority and LOS standards into their respective UGAs to provide for greater consistency in concurrency review for urban areas.
- Policy 6C-8: Study ways to improve east-west connectivity for commercial and passenger vehicle traffic between Interstate 5 and areas to the east.
- Policy 6D-3: Support continual education of the public regarding the relationship between transportation and land use issues and ways to reduce traffic congestion.
- Policy 6D-6: Encourage new housing developments to be located in urban growth areas to help provide a sense of community and safe, nonmotorized transportation to community facilities.
- Policy 6K-5: Support multimodal use by encouraging, for example, provision of secure bicycle storage facilities at park-and-ride lots and other transit facilities.
- Policy 6K-7: Consider implementation of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technology to increase safety, reduce traffic congestion, decrease delays, expedite commercial vehicle travel.
- Policy 6K-8: Explore enhanced bus service to Sudden Valley to reduce traffic in the Lake Whatcom watershed.
- Policy 6K-9: Encourage the development and installation of a comprehensive electric vehicle rapid charging network.
- Policy 6L-3: Consider establishing impact fees to fund a proportionate share of the costs of transportation system improvements that benefit and are reasonably related to new development.