Bellevue seeks feedback on 11 bike projects, part of a less incremental approach to making bike improvements

Tom Fucoloro

from on 2023-09-20 20:05 (#6EY5C)

Rather than going project-by-project to build one-off bike projects, Bellevue is currently planning a more comprehensive and less incremental approach. The Eastside city is currently seeking feedback on what they are calling Bike Bellevue," a network of 11 projects that will build on existing work to create a connected network of bike routes in and near the city center and Spring District.

You can learn more about each of the proposed projects and submit feedback via their online survey.

Not only are many of these projects very promising, but approaching them as a network rather than single projects in isolation is smart. It puts each project in context rather than engaging the community about each individual and incomplete piece of what might some day be part of a network.

Bike Bellevue did not come out of nowhere, though. It's based on more than a decade of previous planning as well as the city's adopted strategic plan, as the city notes in the project description:

Bike Bellevue is the next step in improving the safety, connectivity and comfort of the bicycle network in the city. It builds on planning undertaken through the2009 Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation Plan, the2016 Bicycle Rapid Implementation Program, the2020 Vision Zero Strategic Planand the2022 Mobility Implementation Plan. These past efforts informed the council-approved project principles, whichthe Transportation Commission's guide in developing Bike Bellevue.

The overall goal is to allow people to travel on a dedicated network of bicycle facilities throughout the project area, greatly expanding access between homes, transit, jobs and recreation." The improvements also target the city's high injury network," which are the streets where most of the deaths and injuries occur. When all the projects are complete, about half of the city's current high-injury streets will have a bicycle network improvement," according to the project description. That's up from 13% today.

The survey includes project information about each of the 11 projects, complete with photo-realistic concept images. You can also look at the design concept diagrams for the projects and leave a comment about a specific location in the plan, which is pretty neat. Below is a quick look at all 11 projects. You can find their number on the map above. Click on the project name to go to that segment's survey page.