Good things are happening downtown — and we want you to see them. Find our updates, actions, and accomplishments since February 2024.
Updates
- Read Mayor Lund’s Executive Order 2024-01 (PDF)
- Read the City’s 2026 commitments to downtown (PDF)
- Read our latest progress report (PDF)
Actions
Hygiene and cleaning services
The City installed three new public restrooms, called Portland Loos – one at Waypoint Park, and two in downtown, along Railroad Avenue. These bathrooms are designed to be easily cleaned and resistant to vandalism and are accessible most hours of the day. Janitorial staff continue to provide regular service and respond to needs at these facilities to ensure they are well-maintained and used properly.
City crews regularly clean downtown streets, sidewalks and alleys. Staff pick up litter, do deep cleaning in alleys and on sidewalks, and address illegal dumping concerns downtown several times each week. The City also contracts with the Downtown Bellingham Partnership to provide litter cleanup, graffiti removal, and cleaning services.
Services for substance use disorder and other behavioral health needs
Bellingham Fire Department opened the downtown safety office near the Commercial Street Parking Garage in late February 2024. It is a hub for community paramedics and alternative responders, who are stationed in the downtown public safety office seven days a week. By being downtown, community paramedics are closer to their clients and the services clients regularly use, enabling them to spend more time providing care and strengthening client relationships.
A behavioral health specialist began working at the Central Library in February 2024, providing support, referrals and staff training for about 40 unique individuals each month. This innovative program is jointly funded by the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County Health and Community Services and is staffed by Lake Whatcom Center.
Community policing and public safety
As part of the City’s ongoing commitment to a healthier, safer downtown, we are closing a three-block section of alley downtown. The closure will begin in April 2026 and take place on the alley between Railroad Ave. and Cornwall Ave. for the blocks between Holly St. and Chestnut Ave. This is a targeted, temporary action. We intend to disrupt a pattern of drug activity that has made this space harmful to everyone — including the people spending time there.
Why this alley, why now?
In 2024, Mayor Kim Lund issued an Executive Order on the fentanyl crisis with a focus on downtown Bellingham. The Order directed the City to prioritize enforcing laws against selling illegal drugs.
We analyzed data from the Bellingham Police Department, Fire Department, and Public Works. We also gathered feedback from downtown business owners, outreach providers, and community members. The data all showed that this alley has become a well-known spot for drug dealing and other dangerous activity:
- The City spent $234k on solid waste clean up downtown in 2025. About 80% of that was just in the alleys we propose closing.
- City first responders see a concentration of calls about drugs, overdoses, and instances of violence for this stretch of alley and the immediate surrounding areas.
This pattern doesn’t happen by accident. A fixed, predictable location makes it easier for predatory dealers to operate. It also makes it easier for young people to get drawn in. Closing this space is not punitive toward the people who use it. We want to remove the factors that make it easy for dangerous behavior to happen again and again.
This alley also takes up far more public safety and maintenance resources than its size warrants. Despite those efforts, it remains a safety and community health concern for nearby businesses and residents.
This closure is just one part of the work the City and our partners are doing to support public safety and community health downtown. Visit our Downtown Forward webpage to learn more.
How it works
The closure will involve unlocked gates, signs, and active enforcement to keep the space secure. We will monitor the impacts of the closure on a regular basis. It is specific to this location and is not part of a broader plan to close alleys citywide.
- Timing: An ordinance that allows the City to temporarily close streets and alleys for public health and safety received third and final approval at Bellingham City Council on Monday, April 13, 2026. The ordinance will go into effect 15 days after Council approval on Monday, April 28, 2026, and gates will be installed before the end of the month.
- Duration: We do not have a set end date. We brought together a working group that includes service providers, nearby business owners, and representatives from the Downtown Bellingham Partnership and the City. This group will meet monthly to discuss the measure and its impacts. The project team will also keep a close eye on data from Public Works and Public Safety. Before we reopen the alley, we will do a deep clean and a series of space and safety improvements, such as improved lighting.
- Enforcement: Public Works will install gates across two blocks of alley and post closed signs on a third block of alley. Bellingham Police Department will actively monitor the space to ensure the closure is respected.
Substance use and other support
Our focus here is on drug activity. We are not trying to remove people who are homeless from downtown or displace people without support.
Service providers visit this alley regularly. Ahead of the closure, they will help ensure people know it’s coming and have access to substance use support, if they choose.
For more information on substance use help in Bellingham, visit:
Re-introduced in January 2025, this five-person team patrols downtown seven days a week during daytime hours. They respond to calls for service as well as proactively reach out to employees, business owners and community members to provide support and direction to additional resources.
A private security firm, contracted by the City, provides security at public parking garages and Maritime Heritage Park. They regularly monitor these facilities for illegal activities, report repair and janitorial needs, and direct those in need to additional services where able.
Support events and activities to enliven downtown
As of January 2024, the Whatcom Museum offers free admission, extended hours, and free programming on the first Friday of each month.
The City contributes logistics support, such as traffic control and street cleaning, and other sponsorship support, for special events like Pride IN Bellingham parade, Procession of the Species, Mondays at Maritime, the Memorial Day parade, St. Patrick’s Day parade, and Coast Salish Day at Whatcom Creek, and many more.
We are gearing up for the world’s game in 2026. As an official Washington state fan zone, Bellingham will be hosting waterfront watch parties and expanding the excitement downtown, too. The City is one three primary sponsors and funders of the fan zone.
Create engaging and beautiful public spaces
The City continues to fund the Downtown Bellingham Partnership to maintain planters, hanging baskets, and landscaping beds throughout the downtown, ensuring the public realm looks beautiful, cared-for and welcoming.
The City provides funding for festive holiday lights at Depot Market Square, and year-round lighting of street trees on select downtown streets. This creates a festive atmosphere and additional visibility to improve the sense of safety and welcoming environment, especially during the nighttime and dark days of winter.
Planning and fundraising are underway to reimagine the Central Library’s ground floor and complete upgrades throughout the rest of the interior. A refreshed Children’s department and relocated Teen space will anchor the improvements, creating a welcoming, modern environment where youth and families can learn, connect, and thrive in one of downtown’s most-used public spaces.
The Bellingham Whatcom County Public Facilities District (PFD) helps us develop and enhance cultural infrastructure in downtown Bellingham, especially through investments in two cultural gems: The Mount Baker Theatre and the Lightcatcher Museum. Recent changes to state law will secure this funding source for decades to come, allowing us to not only complete important repairs and improvements to these existing community assets, but also create opportunities for other existing or future downtown cultural venues that could contribute to local tourism, economic growth, and community enrichment in our downtown core.
Planning and fundraising are underway to reimagine the Central Library’s ground floor and complete upgrades throughout the rest of the interior. A refreshed Children’s department and relocated Teen space will anchor the improvements, creating a welcoming, modern environment where youth and families can learn, connect, and thrive in one of downtown’s most-used public spaces.
The City has worked with designers on plans for a new skatepark under the Roeder Avenue bridge on Bellingham’s waterfront. As a collaboration with Northwest Skate Collective, the City will purchase and own the skatepark as a City park, and the Collective will contribute up to half the total funding and help maintain it. Construction of the park is contingent on identifying funding.
Provide funding to support businesses and tourism downtown
The City provides ongoing funding for the operation of the Downtown Bellingham Partnership, which provides support for downtown businesses, as well as marketing and events, such as Downtown Sounds, First Fridays and Wine Walks.
Sustainable development and transportation
The City will focus on developing strategies to encourage the reuse and redevelopment of vacant and underutilized buildings and properties downtown. This includes an assessment of the best uses of the Federal Building and other City facilities, plus research on new or upcoming redevelopment incentives. In 2025, the City began a commercial economic study to begin this process.
In July 2025, the City of Bellingham will implemented the last improvements as part of the pilot project to enhance cyclist visibility, reduce right-turn conflicts, and encourage safer speeds through intersections. These changes respond to community feedback and concerns we heard during the initial phase of this project.
Several new developments planned for the Old Town District will bring more people to our city center and provide up to approximately 600 new residential units withing walking distance of downtown. The developments will be constructed through eight city blocks over the next 10 years, and developers broke ground on the first stage in March 2025.
The City provides ongoing funding for the operation of the Downtown Bellingham Partnership, which provides support for downtown businesses, as well as marketing and events, such as Downtown Sounds, First Fridays and Wine Walks.
Bellingham Housing Authority is planning a four-story rental housing development at the location of their former offices at the intersection of Unity and Flora Streets. The housing will be targeted to households earning at or below 60% of area median income and will include about 63 one-and two-bedroom units. The City has committed substantial funding to support the housing development and long-term affordability of the project.
Changes to the Multifamily Tax Exemption Program (MFTE) adopted in June 2025 provide additional incentives to create housing downtown by changing the affordability thresholds for smaller units to be more financially viable for developers. Since it began, the current MFTE program has resulted in the development of 1,244 units downtown with another 195 under construction.
