The Bellingham City Council will be voting on the removal of parking along Eldridge in order to install bike lanes during their Committee of the Whole meeting on October 24th.  This topic was brought before a City Council Meeting, which included the ability for the public to comment, on October 10th.  The meeting on the 24th doesn't allow for additional public comment.  More info can be found here: https://meetings.cob.org/.  Please add your name to this petition as one last opportunity to express your opposition to this plan prior to the City Council's final vote.

A group of concerned neighbors have been advocating for Public Works to implement traffic calming measures and improve pedestrian crossings along Eldridge for a year, and others have been doing the same for many years prior.

Unfortunately, with the bureaucracy of City Government, the best response Public Works had to this advocacy was a tone-deaf resurrection of a Transportation Improvement Project that had been identified ten years ago to remove parking along Eldridge and install bike lanes, which had been relegated to the bottom of the priority list due to the plan's significant flaws prior to this spring.

Unfortunately, at this point, if we don't speak loudly and unequivocally, parking will be removed from Eldridge, widening the visual corridor and potentially encouraging cars to go faster.  Two crosswalks are in the plan - refreshing the crosswalk at Carl Lobe Park, and installing a crosswalk west of the bridge over Squalicum Parkway.  However, these are completely inadequate to calm traffic or improve pedestrian crossing saftey, especially if parking is removed from the street and residents and their visitors need to park in the neighborhood and cross Eldridge on foot. 

Please join us by signing this petition to send a clear message to City Council to vote NO on removing parking on Eldridge, and instead to have them direct Public Works to install traffic calming measures and additional crosswalks along Eldridge as a top priority.