Project Overview
Sidewalks, ADA Upgrades, Crosswalks, Bike Lanes
West Illinois Street is identified in the 2012 Pedestrian Master Plan as a Tier 1 priority to complete significant sidewalk gaps between Meridian Street and Lynn Street at the northern edge of the Fountain District Urban Village and in the Columbia Neighborhood. The 2014 Bicycle Master Plan recommends marked bike lanes on West Illinois Street, as well as Meridian Street and Girard Street, as highlighted by the pink lines in this Bicycle Connectivity Graphic, but due to physical space constraints, on-street parking will need to be removed from one side of the corridor (BMP Table 3.14). Public Works conducted parking studies on both West Illinois Street and Meridian Street in January and February 2019.
In 2019, Public Works commissioned the West Illinois Street Multimodal Corridor Traffic Study to examine the pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular improvement needs on the West Illinois Street corridor from Sunset Drive to Lynn Street. Bike lanes on West Illinois will connect to the Victor Street Bike Boulevard, marked bike lanes on the Dupont-Elm-Northwest corridor, and marked bike lanes on Meridian Street. Green bike boxes will be installed at the W. Illinois/Northwest intersection, and in a separate, but interrelated project, a multimodal roundabout will be constructed at the W. Illinois/Meridian intersection. Sidewalks will be constructed on both sides of West Illinois from Lynn Street to Northwest and on the south side of West Illinois from Northwest to Meridian.
Status: August 2020
Accomplishments:
- Parking studies completed for West Illinois Street (Sunset to Lynn) and Meridian Street (Victor to W. Illinois and Broadway to Young) – January & February 2019
- West Illinois Street adopted in 2020-2025 TIP in anticipation of 2020 WSDOT call for grant application projects – June 8, 2019
- West Illinois Street Corridor Traffic Study with analysis of Meridian/Illinois Roundabout (pages 14-18; Attachments D & E) – April 14, 2020
- Parkview Elementary School Safe Route to School Improvements = Project #11 in 2021-2026 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
- West Illinois Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety Improvements Project #12 in 2021-2026 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
- Meridian-Girard improvements = Project #2.a. in 2021-2026 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
- Grant application for Meridian-Girard Bike Lanes & Meridian/Illinois Roundabout submitted to WSDOT – March 5, 2020
- Grant application for West Illinois Street Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety Improvements submitted to WSDOT – July 14, 2020
- Grant application for Parkview ES Safe Route to School Improvements submitted to WSDOT – July 20, 2020
- Grant application for Meridian/Illinois Roundabout submitted to the WA Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) – August 14, 2020
Next milestones :
- Neighborhood Meetings and Public Hearing [Subject to COVID-19 restrictions on social gatherings] to propose:
- Per recommendations in the Bicycle Master Plan (pages 45-46) and Fountain District Urban Village Plan, discuss parking removal, where necessary
- On the West Illinois corridor (Sunset Drive to Lynn Street)
- On the Meridian-Girard corridor (Squalicum Pkwy to Young Street)
- Pending grant funding award in July 2021, construction of transportation improvements could occur in summer 2022
Related Projects
- Parkview ES Safe Route to School Improvements
- Meridian-Girard Multimodal Safety Improvements
- ES-0553 2020 Transportation Benefit District Projects
- 2017 WTA Strategic Plan
- 2017 WCOG Whatcom Mobility 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan
Affected Urban Villages
Contacts
Chris Comeau, COB Transportation Planner
Email: ccomeau@cob.org
