Grant will help fund EV carshare cooperative
We are proud to be a recipient of Puget Sound Energy’s Transportation Emission Reduction (TER) Grant! The City will receive about $630,000 in funding to launch a pilot EV carshare cooperative that will increase access to electric vehicles for low-income residents. With this project, we’re reducing transportation emissions, lowering resident fuel and repair costs, and contributing to a cleaner, healthier environment for our community. We’re excited to partner with PSE in shaping a more inclusive and sustainable transportation future for our communities.
Strengthening our commitment to fish passage
This week, Bellingham City Council approved signing the second cooperative memorandum of agreement with Lummi Nation, the Nooksack Indian Tribe, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife that strengthens our shared commitment to restoring full fish passage throughout the city.
This agreement builds on a voluntary 2022 partnership to address City‑owned fish passage barriers. Since then, the partners have worked together to inventory barriers, prioritize the list based on local values, and develop an implementation plan to guide future projects.
Once the agreement is fully signed, partners will formally adopt the plan and collaborate on securing funding and obtaining needed permits for fish passage improvements. Find the implementation plan and more information on our fish passage page.
Read our report on downtown vacancies
We heard from our community that downtown vacancies are a concern. A less active street life shapes how we all feel about downtown and our desire to spend time there. In response, the City completed an in-depth study in 2025-2026 to get a clear, data-driven snapshot of vacant ground floor commercial spaces downtown. In addition to counting empty storefronts, we studied what’s driving vacancies, why some properties are hard to reactivate, and how other factors affect downtown’s vibrancy. Read the full report, including strategies the City is exploring, on our Downtown Forward page.
Three blocks of alley are temporarily closed downtown
You may have noticed some new gates across a few alleys downtown. On Wednesday, April 29, we closed a three-block stretch of the alley between Railroad Ave. and Cornwall Ave. from Holly St. to Chestnut Ave. This is a targeted, temporary action intended to disrupt a pattern of drug activity that has made this space harmful to everyone — including the people spending time there. Learn more about the closure and our other efforts to make downtown safe and welcoming on our Downtown Forward in action page.
Thanks for celebrating Earth Day with us!
Thanks to everyone who joined us for another year of Earth Day events this month. From our recycling event and fish passage tour to Free First Friday, themed Children’s Storytimes, and a dedicated volunteer work party, several hundred participants celebrated with us. This year’s work party was a highlight, bringing out 181 volunteers to remove invasive weeds at our Squalicum Creek re-route restoration site. If you missed us on Earth Day, you can still get involved – join us for a Saturday work party in May!
