Multimodal Transportation
See our latest Transportation chapter updates and provide feedback.
Multimodal Transportation: Existing chapter
Transportation planning considers all the ways people get around our city. It's directly tied to the pattern of development, land use, and how our economy grows over time. Bellingham’s multimodal transportation system includes many travel modes such as pedestrian, bicycle, public transit, automobile, freight truck, marine ferry, railroad, and airplanes. These transportation modes also impact other planning issues, such as car and bicycle parking. These are important issues to consider as land uses shift over time, especially with more emphasis on housing needs. The transportation section of the Bellingham Plan strives for safe, well-connected, and complete streets for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.
What changes will happen in the Bellingham Plan?
The multimodal transportation chapter is as important as ever. Land use and transportation planning go hand in hand. As land uses change and the city grows, transportation planning addresses how to limit congestion while getting people to where they want to go. Planners also think about limiting sprawl and long commutes by incentivizing development near jobs, shopping, and other services where high-frequency transit service is available. More and more, people are choosing human power to get around. We want it to be safe and easy to bike or walk in this city, too.
While the Bellingham Plan thinks 20 years ahead and focuses on big questions, our Public Works Department is also tackling current “here and now” issues. Thanks to their work and our community member feedback, the Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plans were adopted by the City Council earlier this year. The goal of these plans is to identify future projects that will help us create a more walkable and ridable Bellingham. You can expect the Bellingham Plan updates to be consistent with these master plans.
Our major transit provider, Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA), also recently conducted a study to look at the potential for Bus Rapid Transit – a service the includes increased frequency and features to improve speed and efficiency. You can learn more about the project and view the current status here.
While all events contributed to our proposed transportation chapter updates, the following session related most directly. The “How We Will Grow” event focused on different ways we can grow to accommodate a range of land uses and changing housing needs. In order to effectively plan for these changes in a sustainable way, our transportation system, especially transit networks, need to be integrated into our growth approaches.
- How We Will Grow – July 17, 2024
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