Newly Opened Little Squalicum Pier Will Become More Transit Accessible

In addition to Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund tossing the ceremonial cabbage to celebrate the new Bellingham Farmers Market season that started this weekend, the City of Bellingham also opened the recently renovated Little Squalicum Pier, a former railroad dock at Little Squalicum Park jutting out into Bellingham Bay that’s been previously off limits to the public.

The new pier and park improvements give Bellingham’s northwest end a new community waterside destination like Taylor Dock and the South Bay Trail’s overwater boardwalk near Fairhaven. I checked out the newly opened pier on Saturday afternoon and it’s a wonderful spot, especially to enjoy views of Koma Kulshan (Mount Baker). I agree with Mayor Lund's observation at the farmers market cabbage toss that the new pier gives Bellinghamsters a new way to experience and connect with the waters of the Salish Sea in a way they couldn't before.

While there’s plenty to say about Little Squalicum Park, estuary restoration, and the views from the renovated pier — hopefully there will be more Taylor Dock-like places to sit and enjoy the waterside views in the future — let’s focus on parks access at Little Squalicum without talking much about vehicular parking. (Yes, there’s a small parking lot off W. Illinois Street & Marine Drive near a trailhead to reach the nearby park and pier, plus other parking at Bellingham Technical College, but this is a transit blog and newsletter.) 

Currently, I wouldn’t describe Little Squalicum Park and its newly renovated pier as very transit accessible. Whatcom Transit Authority’s Route 3 (Downtown / Cordata via Airport) only sees one bus an hour Monday through Saturday and no Sunday bus service. During Saturday’s visit, I nearly missed the once-hourly Route 3 bus departure from Bellingham Station due to the fact that Route 1 (Downtown / Fairhaven) was running about 10 minutes late.

Once you reach Little Squalicum Park — the bus stop at Lindbergh Avenue & Eldridge Avenue offers the closest and easiest transit access — you may be waiting awhile for a bus back to Downtown Bellingham. (If the scenic views of Bellingham Bay and Lummi Island grow tiresome waiting for a downtown-bound bus, you can venture about 25–30 minutes via the pleasant and quiet Bay to Baker Trail to WTA’s Green GO Line stop at Northwest Avenue & Birchwood Avenue to catch a more frequent Route 232 bus.) 

But that will be changing in June with WTA’s planned service expansion, which will improve Route 3 with new hourly Sunday service while also introducing the new Route 10 on weekdays to the W. Holly Street–Eldridge Avenue corridor heading west out of downtown.

In June, the portion of Route 3 where it will overlap the new Route 10 — between Bellingham Station and Bellingham Technical College through Old Town — will effectively see service twice an hour Monday–Friday despite on paper each individual route only having hourly service. While the pairing of Routes 3 and 10 doesn’t create a frequent transit corridor like WTA’s GO lines, it will make weekday transit service along the W. Holly Street–Eldridge Avenue corridor more like Route 15 on Meridian Street, with buses approximately every 30 minutes.  

Although the BTC campus is an important local destination and future development in the Old Town Urban Village will certainly help, it’s unfortunate that Eldridge Avenue lacks neighborhood businesses and local amenities that’d better support transit ridership for Routes 3 and 10. Hopefully, residents in Bellingham’s Columbia neighborhood and members of the Columbia Neighborhood Association will embrace their improved weekday transit situation. 

But the City of Bellingham, WTA, and local parks advocates have an interesting opportunity to promote the forthcoming transit expansion along the W. Holly Street–Eldridge Avenue corridor as a way to access Little Squalicum Park and the new pier without having to deal with parking frustrations. Hopefully, someday, the Lindbergh Avenue & Eldridge Avenue bus stop — the closest to the heart of Little Squalicum Park and the pier — will see accessibility improvements that will make using transit an even easier choice for Bellinghamsters and visitors. 

Thinking about transit-accessible parks in Bellingham, the forthcoming introduction of Route 10 faces an identity quandary similar to the one that WTA’s Route 533 has across town. Although Route 533 terminates at Lake Padden Park, its outbound destination is signed as “Yew Street.” Many Bellinghamsters are likely oblivious that Route 533 will bring them to one of Bellingham’s best parks. I mean no disrespect to the residents along the woodsy, hilly Yew Street corridor, but unless you live there, Yew Street isn't a notable destination. Similarly, Route 10 will be the “Eldridge” bus that terminates at Bellingham Technical College. While BTC is a better known destination than, say, Yew Street, many Bellinghamsters will likely be clueless that the future Route 10, along with Route 3, will bring them within a short walk of Little Squalicum Park — much closer than they could legally park a vehicle. 

While the City of Bellingham is well known for and deservedly celebrated for its decades-long Greenways investments in local parks and trails, there’s still a lot of work to improve transit access to some of our local parks. While improving transit-oriented parks access isn’t a priority for the Greenways program, the need is still there.

Fortunately, WTA’s forthcoming June service improvements will make car-free access to Little Squalicum Park and the new pier more feasible. Let’s hope Bellinghamsters and civic leaders appreciate this investment and similar investments that not only improve local transit service but also bolster transit-oriented parks access. In a city known for its wonderful parks, trails and civic commitments to environmental stewardship, transit access shouldn't be overlooked.