Connecting Bellingham

Testing Connectivity Metrics in Bellingham, WA American Planning Association Washington State Conference Kennewick, WA October 5-6, 2010

Bellingham, WA – “City of Subdued Excitement”
Bellingham = 77,000 residents
UGA = 9,000
Whatcom County = 193,000
Bellingham & UGA contains 45% of Whatcom County’s population
Bellingham is seat of County government and has 18 of the Top 25 employers in Whatcom County, including:
Western Washington University
Whatcom Community College
Bellingham Technical College
St. Joseph’s Hospital
Bellingham School District
City of Bellingham
Whatcom County
Slide

Multimodal Transportation Concurrency Service Areas
5 Urban Village (Type 1) Green Concurrency Service Areas
Downtown-Old Town-Fountain Districts
Barkley Village District
WWU IMP District
N. Samish Way District
Fairhaven Village District
4 Transition (Type 2) Yellow Concurrency Service Areas
5 Suburban (Type 3) Red Concurrency Service Areas
Slide

Purpose of the Connectivity Study
Establish Importance of “Connectivity” as a Metric
Establish Citywide Baseline Measurement of Connectivity
Explore Means to Refine Multi-modal Concurrency to Include Connectivity
Use Connectivity Metrics to Supplement Capital Improvement Feasibility Studies
Explore Use of Connectivity to Refine Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans and Prioritize Projects

Bellingham Comprehensive Plan Guidance
TG-7 Focus on improving traffic circulation and reduce demand for constructing costly system improvements designed to accommodate additional single occupancy vehicle trips.
TG-16 Identify and commit to connecting ‘missing links’ within the land-based transportation network for all modes of transportation, including pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and motor vehicles.
TG-18 Identify and analyze low-cost opportunities to increase street connectivity to create better traffic circulation within neighborhoods and throughout the city.
TP-60 Discourage cul-de-sacs, where topography allows, and encourage well-connected streets in new and existing neighborhoods.

Bellingham’s Transportation Mode Shift Goals Slide TG-28: Set target goals to increase the mode share of pedestrian, bicycle, and transit trips and reduce automobile trips as a percentage of total trips, as listed below. Mode 2004 1 2010 2 2015 2 2022 2 Auto 87% 84% 80% 75% Transit 2% 3% 4% 6% Bike 3% 4% 5% 6% Ped 8% 9% 11% 13% Notes: 1. 2004 raw data from FTA/Social Data Study 2. City/WTA recommendations based on 2004 raw data from FTA/Social Data Study

Citywide Connectivity - Bellingham

Bellingham’s 16 Concurrency Service Areas Testing Connectivity Quality of Service (QOS) Indices Connectivity Analyses Focused on CSAs #9 & #14

Connectivity by Concurrency Service Area

Measures of Connectivity in Concurrency Service Area #9
Smart Growth Access
Safety Active Living

CSA #9 Composite Score & Summary Connectivity Indices Composite Scoring

Concurrency Service Area #14
Smart Growth Access
Safety Active Living

CSA #14 Composite Score & Summary Connectivity Indices Composite Scoring

Connectivity Benefit - Birchwood Arterial Connector
Interstate 5 = Barrier
Birchwood = New east-west arterial grade-separated beneath Interstate 5 via abandoned railroad tunnel
Connects 900-acre area annexed to city in 2009
New access to Hospital and medical facilities
Significant improvement in EMS, fire, and police response times
New sidewalk, bicycle lane, transit connections
In conjunction with off-street multi-use trail connecting City parks

St Joseph Hospital – Existing Condition Existing Travel Distance to St. Joseph Hospital

St Joseph Hospital with Birchwood Multimodal Connector Expanded Coverage Area – Birchwood Connector

St Joseph Hospital with Birchwood Multimodal Connector Reduced Travel Distance to St Joseph Hospital

Downtown Library with Birchwood Multimodal Connector Reduced Travel Distance to Bellingham Library

Technical College with Birchwood Multimodal Connector Reduced Travel Distance to Bellingham Technical College

Recommendations – Next Steps
Consider Potential Revisions to Connectivity Metric
Establish Community Values – Weighting Criteria
Add Connectivity Metric to Multimodal Concurrency Program for Pedestrian, Bicycle, Transit Modes
Examine Connectivity of Remaining CSAs
Refine and reconsider citywide Pedestrian and
Bicycle System Needs
Prepare and Adopt Citywide Pedestrian and
Bicycle System Plans

Bellingham Contact Information
All questions regarding
Bellingham’s transportation planning programs
should be directed to:

Chris Comeau, AICP, Transportation Planner
City of Bellingham Public Works Department
(360) 778-7946; or [email_address]
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Connecting Bellingham

by Transpo Group on Oct 11, 2010

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Connecting Bellingham — Presentation Transcript