A few days after the City of Bellingham restriped Holly Street through Downtown Bellingham in early May to accommodate a new bike lane — a buffered bike lane between Ellis Street and N. State Street and a parking-protected bus lane between N. State Street and Bay Street — BhamByBus was riding a Whatcom Transit Authority Route 1 bus bound for Bellingham Station when the bus weirdly got caught up in a Sunday afternoon traffic jam on N. Forest Street before E. Chestnut Street. Looking to the block ahead, the street was backed up past the Community Food Co-op approaching Holly, a one-way westbound street leading into the heart of downtown. 

WTA buses, generally speaking, don't get stuck in a lot of traffic since there's not a lot of traffic to begin with in Bellingham. So what was the deal on May 5? It was a Sunday afternoon about a half hour before the 3 o'clock start of the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra's performance at the Mount Baker Theatre (104 N. Commercial Street at E. Champion Street), which was BhamByBus's destination. Were many of these motorists who were stuck in traffic and trying to squeeze through the N. Forest Street & E. Holly Street intersection also heading to the symphony and hunting for parking near the historic performing arts venue?

If I had to take an educated guess, symphony-goers trying to find parking near the Mount Baker Theatre collided with Co-op grocery shoppers on N. Forest Street and others heading into Downtown Bellingham to enjoy some weekend shopping, coffee wanderings, and brewery visits on a pleasant Sunday afternoon.

But the mess turned out to be a momentary traffic jam. As frustrating as the congestion was, within a few traffic signal cycles, the backup on N. Forest Street soon eased. And when the Route 1 bus eventually passed Holly Street and BhamByBus looked east and west along Holly to see what the deal was, there were very few vehicles.  

As a regular WTA bus rider, pedestrian, and symphony-goer who spends a lot of time in Downtown Bellingham, I often scratch my head at the claims that the new bike lane is causing an intolerable amount of congestion, as if Holly Street were akin to Seattle's Mercer Street or Denny Way full of Amazon employees trying to squeeze onto Interstate 5 on their way home. Most of the day, Holly is lightly traveled, something that was true before the City of Bellingham's pilot project converting the street layout from three one-way westbound travel lanes to two lanes with a bike lane. (Since the change, traffic seems to be moving more slowly along Holly, which is a good thing.)

Certainly, there may be situations when a special event, like a concert at the Mount Baker Theatre, leads to minor downtown traffic congestion, but that's not the norm. (BhamByBus is happy to report that the same traffic mess didn't materialize on N. Forest Street before this Sunday's performance, which closed out the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra's 2023-24 season.) 

A Bellingham Symphony Orchestra program featuring clarinetist Kinan Azmeh.
Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh closed out the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra's 2023-24 season on Sunday, June 9. (Photo by Michael Grass / BhamByBus)

That gets BhamByBus to the main thrust of this blog post: More Bellingham Symphony Orchestra ticket holders should discovery the joy of taking the bus downtown for performances. 

While BhamByBus certainly recognizes the first- and last-mile challenges that makes using transit less appealing to those who aren't immediately near transit, many Bellingham neighborhoods are well served by the WTA (e.g., Barkley, Fairhaven, the Fountain District, and Roosevelt) where you can reach Bellingham Station in about 10–15 minutes. And that's the amount of time some motorists eat up searching for parking, parking their cars, and walking to their destination downtown.

The more people who use transit to reach the Mount Baker Theatre, the fewer motorists there are circulating around Downtown Bellingham looking for parking, opening up nearby spaces for those who actually need it. And while this may be wishful thinking, if more symphony-goers took transit downtown, that'd cut down on the number of attendees who rudely sneak out in the moments before a concert concludes so they can get a head start to their cars to "beat the traffic," something that's common at Seattle Symphony performances at Benaroya Hall.   

The Bellingham Symphony Orchestra's Sunday performances, however, mean that those who want to use transit to reach the Mount Baker Theatre must deal with the WTA's Sunday schedule, where some routes either have reduced service or no service at all, including Route 3 (Downtown to Cordata/WCC via Eldridge Avenue) and Route 4 (Cordata via PeaceHealth St. Josephs Medical Center and Birchwood). 

For Bellinghamsters who are in a position to hop a bus downtown, if the quirks of the bus schedule lead to some time to kill nearby before or after a performance, there are plenty places near the Mount Baker Theatre to enjoy on a Sunday. Perhaps a cocktail next door at The Admiralty Lounge (100 N. Commercial Street at E. Champion Street) or Penny Farthing at Chuckanut Bay Distillery (1309 Cornwall Avenue between Holly and Magnolia Streets). 

A plate with an assortment of baklava.
Some baklava treats and Turkish treats from Ashuri Baklava Cafe. (Photo by Michael Grass / BhamByBus)

Or maybe something from Ashuri Baklava Cafe (103 Grand Avenue at W. Champion Street), a favorite of BhamByBus (especially Ashuri's cardamom coffee, kadayif, and mussel baklava). Consider that a special treat for enjoying the symphony and saving the world one bus ride at a time. 

How to Get There: The Mount Baker Theatre (104 N. Commercial Street at E. Champion Street), home of the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra, is a short two-block roll or stroll away from the WTA's downtown bus hub at Bellingham Station. Additionally, Route 232 (Downtown to Cordata/WCC via Northwest Avenue) and Route 15 (Downtown to Cordata/WCC via Meridian Street) serves stops close to the Mount Baker Theatre.