‘No Parking’ signs appear on Gulf Road and receive community pushback  

New “No Parking” signs along Gulf Road have prompted community members to look into how the signs were requested and why they were installed along the entire road.

According to Mandy Feutz, a Whatcom County Public Works communications specialist, the county received a request from a Point Roberts Park and Recreation staff member concerning safe access to the road near the center. When Public Works looked into the request, staff found that Whatcom County Code 10.24.030 requires Gulf Road to be signed for no parking on both sides from the west side of its intersection with Marine Drive west to Julius Drive. Because the existing code calls for the entire stretch to be signed, Feutz said the county could not install signs only in the area near the community center. The issue had not been brought to the attention of the Park and Recreation Department or the Point Roberts Community Advisory Committee during a public meeting, and the committee had not requested that the signs be installed.
The committee is now working on a possible amendment to Code 10.24 to bring the parking regulations in line with current conditions on Gulf Road. Committee member Allison Calder said the existing Gulf Road provision dates to 1960, when the road was narrower and lower than it is today. She has been mapping the current roadway using GIS and plans to have county engineering staff verify the measurements if the amendment receives support from the county council or county executive's office.

Calder said Whatcom County Public Works Director Elizabeth Kosa told her in an email that completing the amendment is not currently in the department's budget, but that the department would proceed if it received backing from either the county council or the county executive's office.
Once the mapping is complete, the information will be shared with the community to discuss whether parking should be prohibited on both sides or whether restrictions on one side could allow space for a walking and biking lane.