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Transportation Commission

Transportation Commission

Tue, March 10, 2026

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Meeting summaryAI-generated

Transportation Commission — March 10, 2026


This was a regular meeting of the Bellingham Transportation Commission, held in a hybrid format at the Pacific Street Operations Center and via Zoom. Eight commissioners were present, along with city staff and a representative from the Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA).


Public Comment


Four members of the public spoke, all focused on the WTA rapid transit study:


Miles Silverman (Cordata neighborhood) expressed support for the locally preferred alternative (LPA), emphasizing its accessibility benefits, but raised concerns about potential conflicts between buses and cyclists.
Owen Begley-Collier (WWU student) strongly supports the LPA but called for improvements in service frequency and reliability.
Adam Mendelson (WWU student) described buses running 10–15 minutes late and suggested bus lane priority signaling as a practical fix.
Kaia Olson (WWU student) supports the LPA as a way to improve reliability and accessibility and to advance the city's sustainability goals.

Approval of February 10, 2026 Meeting Minutes


The commission considered and approved the minutes from its previous meeting.


Vote: Moved by Addie Candib, seconded by Brad Johnson. Motion passed.


Rapid Transit Study Locally Preferred Alternative


Hayden Richardson, representing WTA, presented the locally preferred alternative (LPA) from the WTA's ongoing rapid transit study. Tim Wilder, also serving as WTA representative, and city staff responded to commissioner questions. The details of the LPA itself are not fully described in the minutes, but the public comments suggest it centers on improved bus rapid transit options affecting the Cordata neighborhood and Western Washington University corridor. The commission's discussion touched on themes echoed in public comment — reliability, frequency, and bike/bus interactions — though specific deliberations were not captured in detail in the minutes.


Vote: Moved by Jamin Agosti, seconded by Aaron Miller. Motion passed with 1 abstention.


2026 Local Road Safety Plan


City staff Tim Hohmann and Dylan Casper presented the 2026 Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP), framed around a "Safe Systems" approach — a national framework that designs roads to account for human error and minimize the severity of crashes. Staff responded to commissioner questions. No vote was taken on this item; this appears to have been an informational presentation and discussion. Further action or formal adoption may come at a future meeting.


Announcements


Commissioner Jamin Agosti has been re-appointed to the Transportation Commission.


The meeting adjourned at 7:59 PM.


Key Takeaways


The commission formally endorsed the WTA Rapid Transit Study's Locally Preferred Alternative, moving the regional rapid transit planning process forward with one abstention. This recommendation will inform WTA's transit investment decisions for the corridor.
Public sentiment was strongly supportive of the LPA, but residents and students flagged real-world reliability problems — buses running 10–15 minutes late — and called for bus signal priority and improved frequency.
The 2026 Local Road Safety Plan was presented to the commission using a Safe Systems approach; no vote was taken, suggesting further review or adoption steps remain ahead.
Commissioner Jamin Agosti was re-appointed, maintaining continuity on the commission.

AI-generated summary from voice-to-text transcript. Not the official record. Verify important details with the source documents linked above.

What happened at this meeting

Roll Call

Roll call was conducted with 8 commission members present (Agosti, Candib, Dennis, Miller, Quinn, Wilder, Huegel, Reiter) and 6 staff members present.

Rapid Transit Study Locally Preferred Alternative

Hayden Richardson presented on the WTA rapid transit study locally preferred alternative, with Tim Wilder as WTA representative and city staff responding to commissioner questions. Public comment included support from Miles Silverman, Owen Begley-Collier, Adam Mendelson, and Kaia Olson, who all endorsed the alternative with specific concerns about bus-bike conflicts, frequency/reliability improvements, and bus lane priority signaling. Motion to approve as presented passed with 1 abstention.

Consider Approval of 2/10/2026 Meeting Minutes.

Motion to approve the 2/10/2026 meeting minutes was made by Addie Candib and seconded by Brad Johnson; the motion passed.

2026 Local Road Safety Plan

Tim Hohmann and Dylan Casper presented on the 2026 Local Road Safety Plan using a safe systems approach, with city staff responding to commissioner questions.

Agenda items (5)

Procedural (1)
1ProceduralRoll Call
Council members check in and record attendance at the start of the meeting.

What happened

Roll call was conducted with 8 commission members present (Agosti, Candib, Dennis, Miller, Quinn, Wilder, Huegel, Reiter) and 6 staff members present.
General Business
2General BusinessRapid Transit Study Locally Preferred Alternative
The city will review and decide on a preferred rapid transit option based on a completed study, which could affect future public transportation in Bellingham.

What happened

Hayden Richardson presented on the WTA rapid transit study locally preferred alternative, with Tim Wilder as WTA representative and city staff responding to commissioner questions. Public comment included support from Miles Silverman, Owen Begley-Collier, Adam Mendelson, and Kaia Olson, who all endorsed the alternative with specific concerns about bus-bike conflicts, frequency/reliability improvements, and bus lane priority signaling. Motion to approve as presented passed with 1 abstention.
3General BusinessConsider Approval of 2/10/2026 Meeting Minutes.
Council members will review and formally approve the written record of their February 10, 2026 meeting.

What happened

Motion to approve the 2/10/2026 meeting minutes was made by Addie Candib and seconded by Brad Johnson; the motion passed.
4General Business2026 Local Road Safety Plan
The city is proposing a 2026 plan to improve road safety throughout Bellingham, which may include new traffic measures or infrastructure improvements.

What happened

Tim Hohmann and Dylan Casper presented on the 2026 Local Road Safety Plan using a safe systems approach, with city staff responding to commissioner questions.
5General BusinessStaff Report p.
City staff will provide a report to the council on an unspecified topic (the full title appears incomplete).

Additional votes recorded in minutes

Approve 2/10/2026 Meeting Minutes

aye 2
Addie Candibaye
Brad Johnsonaye

Approve WTA Rapid Transit Study Locally Preferred Alternative

aye 7 · abstain 1
Aaron Milleraye
Addie Candibaye
Andrea Reiterabstain
Cindy Dennisaye
Jacki Quinnaye
Jamin Agostiaye
Jonathan Huegelaye
Tim Wilderaye

Verbatim transcript available

8 transcript segments indexed

Transportation Commission Minutes City of Bellingham, Washington Tuesday 6:00 PM Pacific Street Operations Center (entrance off Carolina March 10, 2026 Street) and ZOOM Video Recorded https://meetings.cob.org - Call To Order The Transportation Commission meeting was called to order by the Chair at 6:00 PM.
Roll Call Present: Jamin Agosti (Commission Member), Addie Candib (Commission Member), Cindy Dennis (Commission Member), Aaron Miller (Commission Member), Jacki Quinn (Commission Member), Tim Wilder (Commission Member), Jonathan Huegel (Commission Member), Andrea Reiter (Commission Member) Staff Present: Mike Wilson, Tim Hohmann, Dylan Casper, Connor Harron, Joel Pfundt, Elena Dixon Others Present: Hayden Richardson (WTA) Public Comment 3 minutes per person, 15 minutes max Miles Silverman (Cordata neighborhood) Expressed support for the rapid transit locally preferred alternative, highlighting accessibility but raised concerns about potential conflicts between buses and bikes.
Owen Begley-Collier (WWU student) Strongly supports the locally preferred alternative but noted the need for improvements in frequency and reliability. Adam Mendelson (WWU student) Mentioned buses being 10-15 minutes late, suggesting bus lanes priority signaling could help.
Kaia Olson (WWU student) Supports the locally preferred alternative to enhance reliability and accessibility for the community and align with sustainability goals. Agenda Items Public Meeting . Consider Approval of 2/10/2026 Meeting Minutes.
Motion to approve 2/10/2026 minutes by Addie Candib, Seconded by Brad Johnson. Motion passed. . Rapid Transit Study Locally Preferred Alternative Hayden Richardson presented on WTA rapid transit study locally preferred alternative.
Presenter, Tim Wilder as WTA representative, and city staff responded to commissioner questions. Motion to approve as presented the WTA rapid transit study locally preferred alternative by commissioner Jamin Agosti.
Seconded by commissioner Aaron Miller. Motion passed with 1 abstention. . 2026 Local Road Safety Plan Tim Hohmann, city staff, spoke briefly about LRSP. Dylan Casper, city staff, presented on local road safety plan (LRSP)/safe systems approach.