Carl Cozier Safe Routes to School Project

Carl Cozier Elementary received a federal grant making it possible for Bellingham Public Works to invest $175,000 in the Carl Cozier Safe Routes to School Safety Improvements project which will move into the construction phase this spring, according to the project manager Steve Day.

According to Day, the Carl Cozier Safe Routes to School project will add a sidewalk on Gladstone Street and install a flashing crosswalk and school zone light at the intersection of Potter Street and Lincoln Street.

Principal of Carl Cozier Elementary, Eric Paige, said that by creating safer walking routes the school has the ability to improve student health.

“Around the nation there is a lot of talk of child obesity, we are promoting a healthy lifestyle and reducing that number,” said Paige.

Paige also added that the improvements to walking routes will reduce the amount of parents who drive their students to school every day, which in turn will decrease traffic in the area around the school.

“Some families don’t have cars so having a way to get here is important,” said Paige.

The project began as an idea back in 2011, recalled Paige, when a family who lived off of Lincoln Street wrote a letter to the school saying that they needed safety improvements to be done in order to feel comfortable sending their kids walking to and from school every day.

“More than students, it will impact their families, their parents,” said Paige.

According to Paige, one of the reasons walking is important to the school is because Bellingham has such an active-lifestyle culture.

“Students walking fits with our community and the values we have,” said Paige.

The choice to improve these two locations Day said was to fill in a “missing link.”

By working with the school district Day said the city took into consideration the pre-existing walking routes that the school had in place.

According to Day, other major walking routes to school were better equipped already, including Puget Street and the Toledo Court area, both of which have sidewalks.

The choice to put in a flashing lighted crosswalk and school zone sign at the intersection of Potter and Lincoln was of similar reasoning. Day said that this intersection seemed to be one of last heavily used in the area without such equipment.

Gaythia Weis, Puget Neighborhood Association President, explained that Carl Cozier Elementary has what they call a “walking school bus,” a program where parent volunteers walk students to and from school.

Weis said that two parents meet the children at a designated location every morning and walk them to school. In the afternoon parents take the children from class to the same location where they go their separate ways until they reach home.

The program will continue to go on after the improvements in other areas with a high number of student walkers, said Paige.

According to Day, before receiving the federal grant the school took a count of how many students walk to school in order to prove that the school was well deserving of the grant.

The same kind of count will occur after the project is completed which is projected to be after this coming summer, said Day.

Paige stressed that after the project is completed there will still be work to be done in educating parents and families about the benefits of having their children walk to school.

“We want to educate families about how this [walking] will work in their children’s best interest, as well as their own,” said Paige.

Weis also felt that the walks to school benefit students, saying that the children had fun on their way to school, playing the whole way there and back.

This type of federal grant does not extend towards buses, that money comes from a completely different place, says Day, who added that busing doesn’t have the same health impacts as walking.

“Studies show that walking promotes child wellness,” said Day.

According to Day, the project is currently in the design phase. After the design has been completed the city will put the project up for bid and hire the contractor who has the best bid then construction will quickly follow.

Day said they hope to begin construction as soon as kids are out of school for the summer and finish in about a month and a half, plenty of time before the new school year starts.

The project is managed by the public works department who has hired a consultant for the design process.

Planning Commission Public Hearing

On Dec.18, 2014 at 7 p.m. there will be a Bellingham Planning Commission public hearing held at the City Council Chambers, 210 Lottie St.

The hearing will focus on continuing to work toward the updated Bellingham City Comprehensive Plan that must be completed by June of 2016.

More specifically, the planning commission will introduce their proposed updated to the Subdivision Ordinance, title eighteen of the Bellingham Municipal Code.

Title eighteen is basically an outline of how to work with the city’s natural growth in order to avoid making it over-crowed or inefficient.

Additionally, the ordinance is there to help plan what kind of infrastructure will be built in the remaining vacant lots around the city, or if such lots should even be built on at all.

At the meeting there will be opportunity for the public to express their thoughts on the topic as well as ask any questions. Written comments that are submitted before Dec. 16 will be considered at this meeting, although comments after the meeting can still be submitted.

Comments can be submitted to Kathy Bell at the Bellingham Planning Commission by email, kbell@cob.org, or by phone at 360-778-8347.

 

 

 

Camus Crest Halts Construction

According to Gaythia Weis Puget Neighborhood Association President, it seems that the property off of Lincoln Street, which was planned for a complex called “The Grove” designed to house over five hundred students, has halted construction.

Campus Crest, the development company who purchased the land in 2013 announced major changes in company restructuring in a press release on Nov., 4.

“We will be discontinuing all construction and development to simplify the business model and focus on organic growth,” according to the company press release.

The question then, said Dick Conoboy the Samish Neighborhood Advisory representative, is will this mean that Campus Crest stops all projects, even those already in progress?

“Where they are at right now is they’ve gone in there and they’ve got permits to get the project moving, they’ve spent money but not all of it,” said Conoboy.

Conoboy said he had been trying to contact the company which is based out of Charlotte, North Carolina since the release had come out but had yet to have luck with confirming anything as of now.

“It’d be a couple weeks before they know what they are doing,” said Conoboy.

Additionally, according to the press release, the company’s CEO Ted Rollins stepped down from his position with Richard Kahlbaugh replacing him as the CEO to lead the company through its “repositioning.”

“The student housing part of the Lincoln Street development projects are at least on hold for now,” said Weis on the Puget neighborhood website.

Initially when Campus Crest bought the property there was a lot of concern about potential traffic problems. Since the complex would be right across from the mobile home park, there would be potential for traffic issues with the major increase of people merging onto Lakeway Street, according to the Traffic Impact Analysis.

Similar issues had come up when the University Ridge development, according to the Puget Neighborhood Association.

Located off of Puget Street, not far from the Campus Crest Property, University Ridge was also designed to house college students from Western Washington University.  

According the City of Bellingham website, University Ridge would have held 164 units.

According to the Traffic Impact Analysis which was written up in 2013 due to the concerns brought up by University Ridge, “The project [University Ridge] would increase traffic volumes in the study area and contribute to increases in intersection delay.”

Eventually construction also stopped on the University Ridge project, according to the City of Bellingham Planning and Community Development Department.

Brian Smart who works in the Bellingham Planning and Community Development Department, said “I’ve heard some rumblings but nothing definitive yet,” when referring to the possibility of Campus Crest stopping construction all together.

According to Campus Crest’s website it already has multiple locations in Washington including Pullman, Cheney and Ellensburg.

The company’s message is, “fully loaded college living.” The apartments come with a number of amenities like a fitness center, game room, indoor-tanning, library, high-speed internet, pool, sport courts, etc.

Annette Quarre, a sophomore at Western Washington University who lives off campus said her amenities include, “natural light, bay view, locked building and laundry onsite.”

According to Quarre, finding a home in college is all about the “general functional ability” of the apartment or house.

“There’s already a gym on campus, and I already pay tuition for that, I wouldn’t use a gym in my own building,” said Quarre. 

According to “The Grove” at Bellingham website, the complex would have both two bedroom, two bathroom units and three bedroom, three bathroom units.

“Location, location, location,” Quarre stressed, as she added that her place is about a ten minute walk from campus.

When asked about what she looks for in a home of campus Quarre said, “I feel like I have pretty basic demands and if those are met and then exceeded I’d be way more willing to live somewhere.”

 

 

 

 

 

Sehome Soccer

 

The Sehome High School varsity girls’ soccer team faces Bellingham High School on Nov., 6, a game which will determine if the Mariners or the Red Raiders move onto state. The loser of the Bellingham-Sehome game will not advance any further.

After the girls’ loss to Shorecrest on Nov., 1 the girls needed their recent win against the Cedarcrest High School Red Wolves this past Tuesday.

According to the Northwest Conference bracket, the winner of the upcoming game with get third place in districts and will move onto state. The first state rounds will be Nov. 10-12 at a location that has yet to be determined.

Bellingham High moved onto this game after losing to Squalicum High 2-1 on Nov., 6 at Civic Stadium.

Admission to the Sehome-Bellingham game will be $7 for students or adults without ASB, $5for students with ASB and $5 for children and seniors.

Community Garden

As the fall comes upon us, gardeners at the Lakeway Community Garden must wrap-up their planting for this season. The season for renters of these 10 feet by 20 feet plots runs from May 1 to Oct. 31.  In order to reserve your plot for next season, contact the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Office. If you already have a plot and are looking to renew your lease you’ll need to do so by Dec. 31. If you are a new-comer or want an additional or different plot, your deadline is Jan. 2.  Professor of finance at Western Washington University, Earl Benson, has been coming to the Lakeway Community Garden for 35 years, he said, while cleaning up some bulbs before planting them. Benson said that the plots are desirable in Bellingham because of the small lot sizes of most of the homes here, which don’t allow enough room for these large gardens.  Benson’s garden is made up of mostly veggies: kale, turnips, tomatoes, to name a few. Lakeway Community Garden is one of three in Bellingham, in addition there are the Happy Valley and Fairhaven Community Gardens. Happy Valley and Fairhaven operate year-round if you can’t wait until May to get some dirt under your fingernails.

 

Dewey Griffin Plans to Expand

Dewey Griffin Automotive dealership has “out grown” their current building, says sales manager Allen Meyer, and plans to expand on the land behind their dealership at 1800 Iowa St., halting the city’s plan to buy the land and create more Greenway space.

“We have customers saying we’ve out grown it,” says Meyer.  The additional space would be made into more lot space as well as a retention pond to create a barrier between the dealership and Whatcom Creek.

“We would be looking at putting a new building not to close to creek,” says Meyer.

According to Tim Wahl, Greenway program coordinator, the city has approached the owners of the property to see if they are willing to sell without much luck.

“It’s in a good place, it has some good uses,” Wahl says, referring to the Dewey Griffin property that boarders Whatcom Creek.

Wahl says both Bellingham Parks and Recreation and Dewey Griffin have been trying to determine what to do with the land.

“On that property there isn’t a clear staff agreement,” says Wahl.

Although adding that, “We won’t buy unless there is a very compelling need for it, there is a need for north-south trail” to connect the Roosevelt neighborhood Boys and Girls Club with Whatcom Creek Greenway, Wahl says.

The city doesn’t necessarily want to purchase the entire plot that the dealership owns, the north-south trail seems to be the best “bang for the buck,” according to Wahl who says such a trail would only require section the land owned by Dewey Griffin.

According to the Greenway Strategic Plan, $331,000 is identified for this particular area, however Wahl explains that “money tends to get directed and redirected based on opportunity and willingness of the owner to sell.”

“Things are not locked down, projects can be defined very broadly” Wahl states.

Bellingham City Council Member Michael Lilliquist says in an email, “Many of our purchases are opportunistic, waiting for a good piece of land in the right location to become available at a good price.”

When the Whatcom Creek Trail Railroad Avenue Bridge burned on Nov., 23 2012 about $50,000 was taken from the $331,000 identified for the Whatcom Creek Greenway connection and was redirected towards rebuilding the bridge, according to Wahl.

“The truth is that the Greenways committee always has their eye on a few properties,” says Lilliquist.

Meyers says that the dealership simply cannot find a way to make the late 1960’s building work for the companies needs and therefore they plan to “move forward with the addition very soon.”

“We are very aware of the Greenway,” says Meyer, emphasizing that the dealership plans to make the new addition and retention pond “blend with the environment.”

“We’ll make sure we have a dog park back there with the pond,” Meyer adds.

Recently, Dewey Griffin has spoken to the city about the restrictions and rules around how far the additional lot space needs to be from the creek in order to keep it healthy, says Meyer.

“We’ve been forth coming with the city about all of our plans,” Meyer says.

According to Wahl, the retention pond that Dewey Griffin plans to build on the property could function well as a private Greenway.

When referring to private Greenways Wahl says, “There’s value there.”

A private Greenway can benefit the environment in the some of the same functions as a public space in that it acts as a habitat for animals and a barrier between nature and populated areas, according to Wahl.

Plus, Wahl adds, “The city doesn’t have to maintain something.”

As far as future plans, Wahl says the opportunities lie more at the downtown bridge site, with little on the horizon for the Whatcom Creek-Roosevelt connection.

“The vision in the Greenway Strategic Plan is sometimes ahead of the reality. You can have a very good vision and you find you’re the only one supporting it,” Wahl says.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greenway Program in Puget

Potential for new Greenway projects in Bellingham’s Puget neighborhood depend on citizen initiative for a fourth levy to follow-up the 2006 levy, according to Greenway program coordinator Tim Wahl.

Greenways can be parks, playgrounds, trails or general open space, Wahl said, and adding that the spaces are not necessarily green but simply connection routes between other Greenways.

Bellingham has been investing in Greenways for 24 years, according to the Greenway Strategic Plan.  The first Greenway levy was in 1990, then 1997 and the most recent in 2006. As for the next levy, Wahl said, “Who knows?”

“It’s just kind of political,” Wahl said, referring to the process of approving another levy that would continue to fund the Greenway programs.

“Citizens put together the nuts and bolts,” said Wahl, and in 2016 the funds from the previous levy of $26.4 million will be exhausted.

Chris Webb, a father who visits Civic Park two or three times a month for his children’s’ swims and playground time, said that the Greenways are a “big part of the quality of life,” and “they’re part of our identity here.”

In the neighborhood of Puget, two projects are outlined in the greenway strategic plan. Project S4 (Samish) would connect Whatcom Creek Greenway with Lake Padden Park over Samish Hill, according to the Greenway Strategic Plan.

“Samish Hill is a huge project for that neighborhood [Puget],” said Wahl. The project would “secure multi-use park land at the northwest corner of the Wright tract to expand the anticipated active use area and provide a strong entrance into the North Samish Hill neighborhood park and Samish Crest Greenway,” according to the Greenway Strategic Plan.

Wahl said that the S4 project is progressing with money targeted for the acquisition of land and that the project is “very much alive.”

The project will be a huge benefit to those that live in the Puget neighborhood, according to Wahl. “Puget is a very difficult neighborhood. There was no thought to walking and biking when it was built,” said Wahl. Since there are many streets with sharp inclines people don’t want to walk or bike, instead they prefer to drive, said Wahl.

The second project that would affect the Puget neighborhood is W3 (Whatcom Creek), which would connect the Roosevelt neighborhood to Whatcom Creek Greenway, according to the Greenway Strategic Plan. The plan states that “$331,000 is identified for purchase of corridors linking Roosevelt Park, the Boys and Girls Club campus with the Whatcom Creek Greenway.” This project would benefit those in Roosevelt more so than those in the Puget neighborhood, Wahl said. Puget and Roosevelt are very different kinds of neighborhoods, the connection Greenway would be very beneficial, according to Wahl.

“Roosevelt is poor people, it’s crime, it’s lack of opportunity,” said Wahl.

As far as progress with this project, Wahl said it has been pretty dormant lately since money allocated to this project has been pulled for use rebuilding the Whatcom Creek Trail Railroad Avenue bridge.  

Additionally, Dewey Griffin Automotive owns, and plans to expand its dealership, on land that could have been used for the W3 Greenway. 

As Cynthia Bush gave her daughter a push at Laurel Park, she said that the parks and Greenways are a reason why people move here.

Webb commented that he thinks people from other communities might come to Bellingham for the parks and Greenways that the city has, because the city is better endowed than others.  

Wahl explained that acquisition of land for Greenways comes in a two-step process. First, parks and recreation staff refer to the Greenway Strategic Plan for general outlines on what kind of land they should be looking for, the funds they have available to them and which neighborhoods should be focused on.

As Wahl said, “Every neighborhood gets some. We want to spread the wealth.”

Once the property has been investigated, the owner of said land is contacted to figure out a price. Only at this stage, said Wahl, does the team take this information to the Bellingham City Council and Greenway Advisory Committee to decide if the property works with the Greenway Strategic Plan.

 

About Kate

My name is Kate Galambos, I'm a sophomore at Western Washington University and studying editorial journalism. If I could choose one aspect of myself, and my life, that is the most note-worthy and has been the most influential it would be that I am a true Pacific Northwestern. Anything you've heard about those who live in the PNW can almost without a doubt be applied to myself.

About this site

Here you'll find a wealth of knowledge all focused on the Bellingham neighborhood of Puget. The neighborhood can be found northeast of the Western Washington University campus and most memorably houses Fred Meyer, Civic Athletic Center, Lakeway Community Garden as well as numerous other community gathering spots.
The news site portion of the site will have stories focused on community issues such as city planning/zoning, special upcoming events, new editions to the neighborhood and any other news relevant to the people living in Puget.
The blog will also focus on Puget but in a more casual format. On the blog you can find bite sized news about Puget or the people who live there.