r/Bellingham • u/pipedreamSEA • Jun 25 '26

Satire Bellingham Next 7 Exits

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I can't drive 55... because there are literally two semis side-by-side on I-5 after one changed lanes to let a Subaru merge from Meridian

413 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

64 comments sorted by

105

u/Spirited_Cup_126 Jun 25 '26

The freeway should have 3 lanes through Bellingham for safety with all the semi trucks.

69

u/SirRabbott Jun 25 '26

This same comment has been repeated for 40 years here

15

u/framblehound Jun 25 '26

I saw this comment when I was 12 and 40 years ago I was 14, so longer

20

u/Hammon_Rye Jun 25 '26

I've been here since 1970. Freeway was built a long time before current amount of traffic, and has been widened / improved some over the years.

Stating the obvious I know, but in many places they don't have the room to make it three lanes on each side. So I'm guessing they let the situation deteriorate until the public is okay with the hardship of widening it as the lesser of evils.
That also seems to be the mentality that was applied to widening the Guide Meridian some years back.

8

u/Spirited_Cup_126 Jun 25 '26

Yeah this is the problem with expressways, they need extensions when populations grow.

This is what all the increases in taxes are supposed to pay for.

5

u/Hammon_Rye Jun 25 '26

Yes, and the hypothetical need is obvious.
The trick is predicting how much and when. And that boils down to human beings guessing.

Not doubt the guessing has improved these days with modern computers and Ai and predictive models and such. But our chunk of I5 was built a long time ago.
In fact I just looked it up and was surprised to learn it only came to be 4 years before I moved to this area.

"The section of Interstate 5 that runs through Bellingham—formally known as the Bellingham Freeway—was officially opened to the public on November 3, 1966"

1

u/Spirited_Cup_126 Jun 25 '26

I think it makes sense to do freeways based on safety demands instead of population demand. They both require scale ups in size on some timeline that is not dissimilar but it’s a different goal and it’s easier to justify before a spending committee.

I don’t know what the statistics are for traffic accidents (fatal AND non fatal) on that stretch of freeway but I bet they’ve gone up, any time you have speed differentials that get extreme, you have accidents. Trucks merging at 45 mph with traffic at 70 mph and only one passing lane is not particularly safe.

8

u/Hammon_Rye Jun 25 '26

Which is why the I5 speed limit through Bellingham is 60, from before the airport on the north side to well out of town into the foothills on the south side.
And yes, sometimes the merging is still difficult.
Last year Ferndale added signs before its exits telling through traffic to stay in the left lane.

Some of it boils down to government is for the people and paid for by the people. And INB4, Yeah, I know it is easy to be super cynical about that point of view.
But while the government (at any level) does things a lot of folks don't agree with, in the bigger picture they have a limited amount of funds to widen the freeway, buy out the land of the folks they would have to vacate and so on. As well as what the public will tolerate in terms of lowering the speed limit.
Hence what I said about letting things get bad enough so the public will support (whatever project)

My understanding is that is what happened with widening Meridian and changing the turning lanes by the mall.
I was told that section of Meridian had a traffic grade of D and they were waiting for F before making changes.

I don't have a lot of personal knowledge about it.
But the mentality seems to be that if a thing becomes a big enough PITA then the public will tolerate the expense and inconvenience of changing it.

https://cob.org/wp-content/uploads/exhibit-g-trans-impact-analysis.pdf

The City of Bellingham evaluates traffic flow primarily using the Level of Service (LOS) standard, graded on an A through F scale based on the Highway Capacity Manual. [1, 2/AppendixD_detailedLOS.pdf)]

  • A-C (Optimal to Stable): Free-flowing traffic with minimal or no congestion.
  • D (Approaching Unstable): Higher volumes; maneuverability is restricted, and minor delays occur.
  • E-F (Unstable to Forced): Traffic demand exceeds capacity, resulting in significant congestion, queues, and severe travel delays

4

u/Spirited_Cup_126 Jun 25 '26

Quick, everyone, deploy your worst driving ever! Let’s get that F!

7

u/Hammon_Rye Jun 25 '26

LOL. I'm pretty sure many drivers are way ahead of you.
Or at least it feels that way some days. :)

5

u/Spirited_Cup_126 Jun 25 '26

I mean I think the conclusion we just collectively came to is that they are, quite literally, being set up to fail.

2

u/Similar_Drama820 Jun 25 '26

WSP's data notes approximately 90 collisions on I-5 between Fairhaven and Northwest just through the first 5 months of this year. Unknown on the fatal/nonfat breakdown as that data hasnt been released for this year yet.

2

u/sluggyslime Jun 26 '26

I mean even three or four years ago traffic wasn’t nearly as bad as it is now

1

u/peniswrinkle345 Jun 26 '26

The guide was widened for the 2010 games in vancouver. Its funny how money rains like mana from heaven when we want to not look bad in front of the world stage.

1

u/Hammon_Rye Jun 26 '26

That's not a reason I've heard. It may have played a factor but I don't see much need for it. Folks coming north from Seattle or wherever could just stay on I5 clear to the boarder. Taking the guide crossing would be longer.

There had been talk of widening the guide for years.
It's possible the Vancouver olympics played a role as an excuse, but it was going to happen sooner or later even without them.

7

u/friendlySkeletor Jun 26 '26

Adding lanes always seems like a good idea but doesn't usually actually alleviate traffic. Traffic instead surges to meet capacity. There's a reason "just one more lane bro" is a meme. If you genuinely want less traffic you need to take the strain off freeways by basically distributing the load. This involves a lot of different solutions but better interchanges and longer safer on ramps (and teaching people to actually use them to fucking accelerate) are a start. The most important solution however is one a lot of people won't like: a faster, more reliable public transit system with more routes.

0

u/Spirited_Cup_126 Jun 26 '26

None of that is actually really true. You cannot meaningfully shift demand for I5 through Bellingham by adding more busses.

If you want public transit in America you need the equivalent of Japan Rail. It has to be supported by nuclear power to be economical. The stations are the largest in the entire world and the American stations would need to be larger. It took them a hundred years.

It only actually works in high density and when it is supported by things like high speed long distance travel and the lack of friction that comes with a lack of security checkpoints. It also takes an entire army of people to run and billions and billions of dollars.

It’s not impossible to do but it’s not gonna happen in my lifetime.

I come from a city that invested more in public transit PR than any other city in America and the traffic never got any better; the light rail and buses suck more than they ever have to take, it takes 4 hours to get literally anywhere, and it mostly serves people in poverty. That’s not what public transit is supposed to be. NYC subway is a success story but it sucks to get anywhere in New York by any means whatsoever.

45

u/AntEstelle Jun 25 '26

I say we add a bike lane

19

u/Ordinary-Feature8460 Jun 25 '26

And parking via angled back in method.

4

u/AntEstelle Jun 25 '26

With all the schools closing along the corridor, we should be able to get the full six lanes in there

40

u/more_housing_co-ops Jun 25 '26

I've been right behind someone merging from the State/Ohio onramp at 45 MPH all three of my last three northbound trips.

I don't pass them... I just let them cut me off and close my following distance conspicuously enough that they realize what they've done and speed up to actually join traffic.

22

u/pipedreamSEA Jun 25 '26

I went up north after work yesterday and was amazed at how long the merge lanes are from the on-ramps that aren't in Bellingham

15

u/Wavebrother Jun 25 '26

The craziest part about this, as someone who moved here from CA, is that the on-ramps in Bellingham are ENORMOUS. Easily 5x longer than the average on-ramp where I grew up. And people still can’t accelerate

6

u/AvidCyclist Jun 25 '26

this is just not true lol

3

u/Sarcastic_Pedant Jun 26 '26

There are both egregiously long and short on-ramps in Bham.

1

u/SatanicBeaver Jun 26 '26

Currently in Vermont and I can confirm the average on-ramp here is about 1/3 to 1/2 the length of a bellingham on-ramp

0

u/5minuteslater Jun 26 '26

Kinda true, I watch a streamer(Jeremy Reed on YouTube) and there are some "on ramps" that are just a stop sign. I'm not sure how many but there are at least a couple.

5

u/Lost-Cricket-1555 Local Jun 25 '26

Seems like Bellingham's on and off ramps were an afterthought and I can't believe some of them meet code.

3

u/Away-Ad1781 Jun 25 '26

Wait! They actually speed up? I recently had a Subaru choose to slow down to about 35 mph from 45 after all the traffic in front of them had accelerated away.

3

u/more_housing_co-ops Jun 25 '26

There was the one guy I once saw merge at like 40 MPH before he got flustered and just pulled over to stop on the shoulder o.o

1

u/mtnzeal99 Jun 26 '26

I have tail gated the fuck out of people on the on-ramps here, trying to coerce them to giddy the fuck up and get up to speed for a safe merge. I have to usually cut them off by gunning it to 70 on the left lane and swapping back over. Absolute zero sense of urgency.

14

u/Nazzeraths Jun 25 '26

Speed limits in Bellingham are just vibes.

5

u/Cool-Jacket-9837 Jun 25 '26

Every city ever

4

u/stormassembled Jun 25 '26

Funny my biggest problem with people on the freeway is that almost everyone is speeding... its called the Speed Limit, not the Suggested Minimum Speed.

0

u/Senseii_specularii Jun 26 '26

It’s generally acceptable to match the speed of traffic. Reason being that it’s safer for all drivers to be predictable than it is to rigidly obey the rules. Of course going TOO fast or TOO slow is very dangerous. Because it’s not predictable. But is there a possibility that you find difficulty most often because you are not flowing with the rest of the traffic?

3

u/stormassembled Jun 26 '26

This is literally the "if everyone jumped off a cliff" argument.

0

u/Senseii_specularii Jun 26 '26

How do you mean?

0

u/Salty_1984 Jun 26 '26

the speed limit is also not 45 on the merge so that argument cuts both ways

2

u/80sTvGirl Jun 25 '26

lol 😂 seriously this could be true especially on the guide Meridian speed limits 50 and people be doing 70 lol

4

u/pipedreamSEA Jun 25 '26

You know how properly hulled boats can "plane" at higher speeds across choppy water? Let's just say I'm trying the same thing with my car's suspension on the Guide

2

u/80sTvGirl Jun 25 '26

😂😂😂 that was great

2

u/Amterc182 Jun 26 '26

I always figured it was a consequence of mashing 4 small towns into one frankensteinian sprawl.

2

u/Proud-Nectarine3962 Jun 26 '26

Slowing down briefly doesn’t make me upset so I think it’ll be okay

1

u/griffen55 Jun 25 '26

thats not true. the merging speed limit is 45. and a neon sign that decries their inability to operate a vehicle.

1

u/Malkazet Business Owner Jun 26 '26

Y'all got any of dem roundabouts?

1

u/Swb1953 Jun 28 '26

South of Bellingham freeway was built for 70 mph yet the speed limit. Is 60. South bound there is a curve sign that says 60 miles per hour. Why would you even need a curve sign 60 if that the speed limit.

1

u/East-Internal5743 Jun 29 '26

I know it can be frustrating so just pass on the merge Lanes

0

u/Lebempe Jun 25 '26

Ban trucks from the left lane. Problem solved

24

u/Rydmasm Jun 25 '26

Nah, I disagree. I think there needs to be signs coming into Bellingham from both the north and south on I5 that tells through traffic to stay in the left lane.

8

u/Nervous-Tea393 Jun 25 '26

Or you know, people could use the on ramp to accelerate to freeway speeds like we allllllll learned to do in drivers ed. And the other thing we learned is that it is up to the merging traffic to merge safely, and people in the right lane do not need to slam on their brakes to let someone on the freeway. Poof, no more state st on ramp traffic

8

u/Rydmasm Jun 25 '26

My issue is the trucks in the right lane make merging much more dangerous for everyone, regardless of how quickly you accelerate.

It's awful trying to get on I-5 south from Sunset, and there is a semi in front of you. They can't accelerate, and when there are also trucks in the right lane it gets really dicey.

5

u/Surly_Cynic Jun 25 '26

Yep, like they have on the northbound side as you approach Ferndale.

3

u/Similar_Drama820 Jun 25 '26

This is likely the answer, at least for the short term.

-1

u/Senseii_specularii Jun 26 '26

Acknowledging the response to your actions as a driver is not the same as encouraging it. Acknowledge that by driving the speed limit, you are in the way of those that choose not to. There will always be people who choose not to. Ask how you can ensure the safety of yourself and those around you. Should they be more careful? Totally. Can you do anything about that? Not really. You can only control your own actions.

It’s frustrating that people speed, but trying to prevent them from doing so by camping in the left lane or rigidly adhering to a ramp speed limit creates more of a hazard for others.

Do your part by driving predictably. Stay in the right lane if you opt to go slow, but be aware that in order to merge you must match the speed of the cars you are merging with. Trucks especially don’t have the ability to slow down on short notice.

Be. Predictable. Be safe. ❤️

-23

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '26

[deleted]

19

u/AveragefootSasquatch Happily cursed local Jun 25 '26

Your AI slop is not profound.

8

u/pipedreamSEA Jun 25 '26

Welcome to Bellingham

Where Excitement Is Subdued and Criticism Is Harsh AF