The City
of Bellingham has deemed Samish Way a dangerous road for pedestrians and
bicyclists alike.
According to the 2010 Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety
Grant Application, between 2007-10, five accidents occurred on Samish Way
involving vehicles hitting pedestrians and bicyclists.
Construction is currently underway on North Samish
Way on the intersections of Abbott and Consolidation to put in crosswalks with
the hope of improving pedestrian and bicycle safety.
Although the grant application is titled
“Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Grant Application,” Transportations Options
Coordinator Kim Brown said bike lanes are not in the current plans for
improving Samish Way.
Chris Jones, an employee at Fanatik Bike Co. as
well as a regular rider on Samish Way, believes more should be done on the
five-lane road to improve the safety for bicyclists.
“I moved here from Portland and know (Samish) is a
road you avoid,” Jones said. “The road surface itself isn’t in good shape and
(it’s uncomfortable) being out in traffic with vehicles…I’ve always noticed
it’s not a safe road.”
Jones said he rides up to North 34th Street, which
runs parallel to Samish Way to avoid the traffic. Jones also explained concern over
the belief that crosswalks will improve bicycle safety on a road that sees
nearly 13,000 vehicles a day, according to the 2010 grant application.
“Honestly, I don’t think (the crosswalks) improve
bicycle safety at all,” he said.
Bellingham city council member Terry Bornemann has
been advocating for more improvements on Samish Way because he himself was once
struck by a moving vehicle while riding his bicycle.
Bornemann said he a few years back, he was riding
his bicycle when a girl ran a stop sign and hit him on East Holly Street. The accident forced Bornemann to get numerous
surgeries on the side he was hit, and he believes that although the crosswalk
doesn’t immediately affect bicyclists, he does believe that it will help
improve driver awareness on the street and make it safer for bicyclists.
“Usually what happens is you get a little more
traffic calming which makes it safer,” Bornemann said.
He also said bike routes, including the route Jones
takes on North 34th Street, will be marked as alternative routes for cyclists
to get around the busy five-lane road.
Bornemann corroborated what Brown had said that
yes, nothing is currently in the works for bike lanes to be constructed on
Samish Way, but did say that a part of the Samish Urban Village plan did
involve the implementation of bike lanes.
Unfortunately, Bornemann said, time and money force
things to take longer than he would hope.
Brown on the other hand, believes by implementing
the crosswalks with flashing lights and medians, safety both for pedestrians
and bicyclists will drastically improve.
Although the crosswalks and mediums placed on the
busy five-lane highway are seen as a way to provide pedestrians a safe
passageway from one side of the road to the other, a community-wide awareness
program looking to educate drivers and pedestrians is also seen as an
alternative means of preventing more accidents, Brown said.
“We’re going to work with the neighborhood
associations; we’ll be working with businesses in terms of getting information
out into the media, posters (and) probably attend a neighborhood event,” Brown
said.
Brown also said the Bellingham Police Department is
working alongside the city of Bellingham in the efforts of making Samish Way a
safer avenue for pedestrians and bicyclists alike.
“They’ll do enhance enforcement,” she said. “That
entails speed and crosswalk enforcement. They may do pedestrian sting
operations where they’ll have plane closed police office cross and then enforce
whether vehicles are stopping for them.”
Classes taught with the purpose of increasing
driver awareness are pivotal to ensuring a greater sense of safety both for
pedestrians and bicyclists, Bornemann said. Bornemann said he doesn’t know when
the bike lanes and alternative bike routes will be constructed.
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