Happy Valley Traffic

The Happy Valley neighborhood has been a relatively safe and quiet environment for both families and students to live, according to its residents.  With the increase of speeding drivers and lack of traffic calming devices this sense of security is deceptive, said Ken Yanik who has lived on McKenzie Avenue for over 17 years.

Yanik said he has witnessed people driving down his suburban street at 50 to 60 mph.  He is concerned about the safety of his two young sons, he said.  As a pediatric nurse at St. Joseph Hospital he said he has seen the aftermath of children being hit by cars.  

“I literally step in front of the speeders on my street to make them aware there are humans around,” he said.   

Photo by Erin Nash

Miles Freelan (left), Gabe Hallett (center), and Sean Yanick (right) help plant carnations in garden boxes on McKenzie Avenue. Ken Yanick says he tells his children to stay away from the road because "you never know what crazy will be speeding down [it]."

Yvonne Dean, Happy Valley Neighborhood Association Treasurer, said from her observations Mill and Douglas avenues and Lenora Court are the most dangerous areas for pedestrians.  She said there is a lack of sidewalks on the narrow streets and children are forced to walk on the side of the road to get to school.

Barbara Perry, who has lived in Happy Valley since 1975, said the area around Knox Avenue and Lenora Court doesn't have sidewalks making it another hazardous area for children walking to school.

“I’ve been trying to protect my own grandchildren,” said Perry. “I’ve started a petition to ask the city to put in stop signs [and other calming devices].  I want to help protect our walkers.”

Perry said the petition is at The Fire House Cafe on Harris Avenue for any community members who want to sign it.  She wants to bring the document to a city council meeting in hopes they will put in stop signs or slower speed limits, she said.  

Wendy Borgesen has lived on Mill Avenue since 1989.  She said she has witnessed an increase in speeders throughout the years.  The neighborhood is increasing in urbanization, she said, but the city is treating it like it’s still rural.

“I wish we could have a speed radar or speed bump,” she said. “Other neighborhoods got them when there was money and now there isn’t any money.”  

The Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program traditionally helps fund traffic calming programs. Due to budget cuts the program has been suspended since January 2009.  

“Unfortunately there are very good programs that are not being funded right now,” City Council Representative Michael Lilliquist said.  “It is disappointing we can’t support community programs like the Traffic Safety Program.”

Lilliquist said the economic recession has caused the city to “tighten its belt until they are sure there is an economic turn around.” He said they cut the budget by 15 percent which included cutting programs that weren’t absolutely essential to running the city.

Drivers tend to increase their speed between 21st and 23rd Street on Mill Avenue so this area is especially dangerous for children, Borgesen said.  The “slow, school” sign isn’t visible until 23rd Street and the city won’t allow residents to post “slow, children” signs because it gives children a false impression of safety, she said.  

She said the new batch of college students that move into the neighborhood every year are a big part of the problem.

“No one wants to hit a kid,” she said.  “I think they just aren’t aware of the presence of children.”

                                                                       Photo by Erin Nash

People in Happy Valley need to record license plate numbers of speeders and report them to the police, Lilliquist said.  The city is powerless to change anything unless they can follow up on individuals and make them responsible for speeding, he said.

Mark Young, Public Information Officer for the Bellingham Police, said it is possible for the Traffic Division to conduct a traffic study.  This would verify times of day traffic patrols are most needed on certain streets.  He said traffic calming devises may be the best solution for problematic areas but those are costly.  Complaints about specific locations should be left on the Traffic Unit Sergeants voice mail, he said.  

Sonja Duncan, who moved to McKenzie Avenue last summer, said she contacted the city to tell them the neighborhood would pay for the purchase and installation of a speed bump on their street.  The city told her they would have to conduct a traffic survey first, which would cost a lot more money, she said.  

Duncan said she thinks one of the sources of the increased number of speeders on her street was the development of the Varsity Village Apartments.  It brought more people and more students to the neighborhood, she said. She’s thought about talking to students in an attempt to make them aware of the presence of children on the street.

“How do you get people to see children?” Yanik said.  “At some level I feel a little hopeless about it because students come and go so it is hard to educate them and get them to care about the neighborhood when they will be leaving in a year.”  

Western student Jacqueline Braden said she lives on 21st Street.  She said she occasionally feels unsafe when riding her bike in Happy Valley because there aren’t many bike lanes and drivers tend to pass quickly around her while she’s biking.  She hasn’t noticed a traffic problem when walking to Western because she stays on the sidewalk on 21st Street, she said.  

Yanik said it isn’t only students who speed.  There are also parents who drive too fast.  He said everyone needs to be more aware of the issue.

“It’s not that kids could get hit,” he said.  “They do get hit.  I often deal with the end result of such accidents.  I know what a car does to a child.  To me, [fixing this issue] is preventative health care.” 

To contact the Traffic Unit Sergeants voice mail with a complaint about speeding concerns in a specific location call: 360-778-8763

The Fire House Cafe is located at 1314 Harris Ave.  Perry said the petition she wrote will be there for anyone to sign.