How the Community Streets Program Works

Wondering what happens after you share a traffic concern with the Community Streets Program? We take your input and work towards finding solutions that benefit our neighborhoods. Learn more about the process of submitting concerns and how we address them below.

Step 1 – Identify

Notice a traffic issue on your residential street or a residential street that you frequently use that is part of our 2025 focus area (Cordata, Meridian, King Mountain, Irongate, Barkley, and Silver Beach neighborhoods)? Speeding? Poor visibility? We can address concerns on residential streets related to:

  • Speeding
  • Visibility and sight distance
  • Traffic volume and congestion
  • Parking and access
  • Infrastructure and road conditions

Step 2 – Report

Share your concerns with us online, by phone, or in person (event information coming soon). It only takes a few minutes. For the 2025 focus area, you can submit concerns through May 31, 2025.

Step 3 – Collaborate

In summer 2025, we will review your concern and work with you to find the best solution. Each concern will be assigned to a pathway to determine next steps. Depending on the complexity of the concern, it may be addressed in 2025 or added to a plan to be addressed when we have funding and capacity. Learn about the potential pathways for your concern:


Checklist Actions

If your concern is a straightforward, immediate issue, it will become a Checklist Action. These are quick fixes and are usually handled by Public Works staff.

Examples of Checklist Actions include:

  • Removing or trimming overgrown vegetation that obstructs sight lines.
  • Performing simple maintenance or minor repairs.
  • Updating minor traffic signs or markings.
Adult walking with a child on a bike on a sidewalk trying to navigate around overgrown vegetation that is blocking sidewalk
Vegetation encroaching on sidewalk makes use difficult

Capital Projects

If your concern involves major roadway alterations or needs substantial funding, it will be recommended as a Capital Project. Because of their scope and cost, they are not immediately implementable. These kinds of concerns are recommended to the City’s Capital Improvement Program, where they can be planned for over a longer timeframe and incorporated into larger infrastructure development efforts.

Examples of Capital Projects include:

Trench in middle of road with construction worker operating equipment nearby.
Example of a major capital project

Location Studies

We conduct location studies to address traffic safety concerns like speeding, high traffic volume, and pedestrian safety in specific areas. Each year, about 25 locations are chosen for a thorough review. City staff perform traffic studies and site visits, and look at factors like vehicle speeds, traffic volumes, road layout, crash history, and any unique site conditions. Based on this information, they determine the best traffic calming measures and prioritize them for implementation.

Family biking on a residential street in Bellingham

Neighborhood Projects

Residents can work together on Neighborhood Projects to improve safety, build community, and address traffic concerns using creative, low-cost approaches. These projects are especially effective in addressing unique community concerns and provide alternative solutions to traditional traffic engineering.

Resources available for Neighborhood Projects include:

Kids laying in the middle of a street mural depicting colorful sea life
Community street mural at Lynn and North Streets. Photo by Robbie Hochreiter.

More information