Hwy. 539

Hwy. 539/Axton Rd. intersection, with Canada in the distance.
The site of the 2010 Winter Olympics is up there somewhere.

Meridian Street is one of the main streets through downtown Bellingham.  After it crosses under I-5 it's called Guide-Meridian, or "The Guide" for unknown reasons.  The segment of Meridian next to Bellis Fair Mall, between the freeway and Kellogg Road, is the worst in the county for traffic congestion and accidents.  (It is currently under study for planned traffic improvements, but the emphasis will be on improving vehicle movement, not adding features for bicyclists.)  There are no bike lanes, intersections are badly laid out, and there are many driveways for businesses and shopping centers.  On the east side of the street, by Bellis Fair Mall, there is no sidewalk or shoulder, only concrete barriers next to the traffic lane.  Heading south into town, if you're fast and brave you can ride in the traffic lane, and cross the main entrance to the mall, plus three freeway on/off ramps.  I almost always cut through the mall parking lot, or ride on the sidewalk going the "wrong" way on the "wrong" side.

The bike lanes start at Kellogg Road, but traffic speed also starts to increase there.  Once you get out of the business district, the speed limit goes up to 50mph with two traffic lanes in each direction, plus left and right turn lanes at some intersections.  Car traffic is heavy and fast, and there are also lots of farm and construction vehicles, and large trucks to and from the Canadian border crossing.

The first roundabout, at Hemmi Road.  The bike lanes are designed to send cyclists up on to the sidewalk going through the roundabout, and with good reason.  Signs warn car drivers not to drive next to trucks in the roundabout.

Still, it's a bit awkward for a bicyclist to use the crosswalks.  If you're stiff in the neck and back, like me, it's hard to look back to make sure there are no cars coming before making a sharp turn off the sidewalk into the crosswalk.

But I guess that's the purpose of roundabouts:
to force people to slow down and look - truck drivers, car drivers and bicycle riders alike.

Views of Mount Baker are (usually, on clear days) visible to the right as you travel north.

Looking back south to Laurel Hill

The Pole Road roundabout

This is why bicyclists should ride on the sidewalk

A tourist shop on the southbound side of Hwy. 539 promises indigenous arts and crafts.  The gravel and cable divider was added last year.

This is the northbound view.  Going home, southbound on Hwy. 539, I turned right on to W. Wiser Lake Road, which connects to Northwest Road, which connects to turn-offs to Ferndale at Axton or Smith Roads.

To the right is the public boat launch at Wiser Lake; the entry is two quick right turns at the Wiser Lake roundabout.  Wiser Lake is really a pond, mostly surrounded by new McMansions.  Water-skiing is allowed, but it's hard to see how anyone could get going fast enough to get up on skis for long.

Wiser Lake Road roundabout

Bridge over the Nooksack River.

The right side is the old bridge, which used to be two lanes and two directions.  Now the highway is divided into two northbound and two southbound lanes, with a new bridge on the left.  The bike lane still narrows crossing over the old bridge; there is a sidewalk which can be used by bicycles as well as pedestrians, but I wouldn't feel any safer there than riding by the roadway.

River Road roundabout, just past the bridge

Looking back at the bridge

A geographical footnote:
I usually think of I-5 as running north-south, but coming through Bellingham to the border it really mostly goes northwest.  Northwest Road, my commuter route, also runs northwest, more or less parallel to the freeway.  Otherwise, the road grid mostly runs north-south and east-west, with Guide-Meridian, Hannegan and Everson-Goshen roads being the main north-south routes in the county.