BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Drivers in Bellingham should prepare for lower speed limits starting this summer.

The Bellingham City Council voted unanimously on Monday, June 1, to officially pass an ordinance lowering speed limits across the city in several phases over the next three years.

Starting this summer, the city’s default speed limit will be reduced from 25 to 20 mph for most downtown and residential streets.

The city will install new signs on gateways and downtown streets in the coming months while launching an awareness campaign to remind the public. Patrol officers plan to have a warning period after the new signs are installed before more seriously enforcing the new speed limits.

The next phase will involve lowering speed limits on some of the city’s higher-volume roads in 2027 before dropping the speed limits on secondary streets in 2028.

According to a report, Bellingham saw 135 crashes between 2019 and 2023 with fatal or severe injuries, nearly half involving a pedestrian or bicyclist. City council members noted that other cities like Seattle and Portland have seen reductions in fatalities and severe injuries after lowering their speed limits.

You can view the city’s ordinance to see the new speed limits for each specific corridor.