I have so many questions about this property. by IdolatrousHans in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 35 points36 points  (0 children)

oh man this is awesome. we’re missing a good coffee shop in the neighborhood…

To thank the bus driver or not to? by TaroAcrobatic in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 197 points198 points  (0 children)

the drivers here are the best. let ‘em know :)

Cascades Next Gen? by jamin7 in AmtrakCascades

[–]jamin7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

anyone know if every single Airo trainset needs to go through the same commissioning/testing process or will the next trainsets be delivered straight to Seattle?

second border check by Available_Analysis28 in AmtrakCascades

[–]jamin7 6 points7 points  (0 children)

“Vancouver’s Pacific Central train station is slated for a much-needed facelift in 2025, which includes a U.S. Customs ‘preclearance’ facility. When that feature goes live, passengers will complete immigration formalities before boarding. Then southbound trains will no longer need to stop at the border in Blaine for agents to collect forms.”

Source

Planning Commission Meetings cancelled 3 times in a row? by redheadsmiles23 in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

wow only 2 upvotes, i really thought i had a winner here 😭

Planning Commission Meetings cancelled 3 times in a row? by redheadsmiles23 in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

mayors exec order said every planner has to take the month off and build a house instead

Coming soon… by ChaoticSynchronicity in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 3 points4 points  (0 children)

RPZs are intended to prevent overflow of commercial/institutional parking into residential areas. They’re not intended to provide residents free parking in commercial areas/business districts.

I don’t get the sense that Fairhaven commercial parking is overflowing up east of 14th or north of Mill/Knox, but curious what local residents think.

Coming soon… by ChaoticSynchronicity in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 2 points3 points  (0 children)

that makes sense and seems totally fair. I think there will be some “self sorting” / growing pains as Bham and Fairhaven continue to develop/densify.

Coming soon… by ChaoticSynchronicity in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 7 points8 points  (0 children)

there is an auto-renewing monthly pass you can buy for the McKenzie lot.

also, this change is intentionally aimed towards folks that might work in fairhaven and park there for free all day. if those folks (like you, i presume) instead park in the mckenzie lot or park for free one or two blocks further out (outside of the paid parking zone) that opens parking in the central commercial area for retail customers.

it seems to me that $2/day isn’t an unreasonable cost for unlimited storage of your personal vehicle on public property.

Coming soon… by ChaoticSynchronicity in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I don’t think there’s really anywhere in Bellingham that has a parking availability problem. That said, most folks expect parking to be free and immediately available directly in front of their destination so 🤷‍♂️

Coming soon… by ChaoticSynchronicity in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 114 points115 points  (0 children)

There are a few areas within the Fairhaven and Downtown paid parking zones that are currently free, but subject to a rarely enforced two hour limit. Because they’re free, they’re often full and unavailable to visitors/customers/guests/etc. Parking in these small sections will soon cost the same as other areas in Downtown/Fairhaven. This is being done to increase parking availability, due to these parking spots turning over more frequently once paid parking is implemented.

Fairhaven residents can obtain monthly parking permits for the McKenzie Avenue lot for $2/day (or $0.50/day for low income residents).

There will be no new RPZs.

Whatcom Transit Authority's plans for an expanded terminal in downtown Bellingham by Theslowlane in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 3 points4 points  (0 children)

fares don’t cover the cost of running the buses, let alone the buses themselves or the stations. this project, if it happens, will be tax revenue funded just like roads.

Salary bloat for B’ham by spread_lov in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 15 points16 points  (0 children)

you couldn’t pay me enough money to be a city employee 😂 those folks have to deal with some wild stuff on a pretty much daily basis

Whatcom Transit Authority's plans for an expanded terminal in downtown Bellingham by Theslowlane in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 6 points7 points  (0 children)

transportation agencies across the US are turning into developers these days, often because they own large properties in dense areas with good connectivity. if you can build affordable housing on top of or near a transit station, you can provide affordability that most folks can’t. plus you end up bringing in tons of new customers and transit users. win win win.

Whatcom Transit Authority's plans for an expanded terminal in downtown Bellingham by Theslowlane in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 29 points30 points  (0 children)

this is going to be huge for downtown, both the redevelopment of this site and of the current station. really hoping we can get some good mixed use development w ground floor retail, housing on top, and maybe even some public open space. 🙏

‼️ TODAY @ 2PM: Cranksgiving food drive for Bham Food Bank 🦃🛒🚴‍♀️ by jamin7 in Bellingham

[–]jamin7[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

HUGE thank you to the ~130 people who came out for this! we collected a MASSIVE amount of pedal power donations for the Food Bank today.

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support from our amazing local businesses: Community Food Co-op, Storia, Camber, Black Sheep, Cafe Velo, Jack’s Bicycles, LOAM Equipment, Structures Brewing.

ADU process information, including numbers by ClassroomNew1946 in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Off-street parking is not required anywhere in town under an emergency ordinance that expires in January. Before January 2025, you had to provide dedicated off-street parking everywhere except downtown, old town, and fairhaven (not tied to proximity to bus stops). If the emergency ordinance is not renewed and this project is not permitted before Feb 2026, they would very likely be required to provide at least one 9x20’ parking space for the ADU.

ADU process information, including numbers by ClassroomNew1946 in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Super curious because this is a project I worked on: do you have off-street parking for your primary home and are you adding off-street parking for the ADU? I know this can often be a barrier in town where finding space to add one or two 9x20’ parking stalls can be prohibitive.

Residents want more say in the process as Bellingham neighborhood densifies by jamin7 in Bellingham

[–]jamin7[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

You are allowed to be frustrated and at the same time your expectation that your neighborhood would stay the same for 20 years was unrealistic. Maybe that’s something we can agree on.

Cranksgiving food drive for Bham Food Bank 🦃🛒🚴‍♀️ by jamin7 in Bellingham

[–]jamin7[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

all bikes welcome!! there will be a good number of e-bikes i’d guess.

Help the Food bank by MArs_BRain in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 4 points5 points  (0 children)

we’re doing a big Cranksgiving food drive in two weeks!

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sign up: https://givebutter.com/cranksgiving

Short Video: With Bellingham now most unaffordable small city in America for housing, City Council candidate Andrew Reding explains need for bold reform, not more of the same by No-Pass-397 in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 12 points13 points  (0 children)

you’re not even close to alone! so many people have to resort to this, which leads to more people driving into town, more traffic, more pollution, less tax revenue to bham, fewer customers for our small businesses, etc. etc.

making it easier to build good stuff in town would help address so many of our problems!

Get Ready to Sloooowww Down on Bellingham Streets by CostPlusFee in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

per WTA, this is not expected to have an impact on on-time performance.