Summary of WLSA – City of Bellevue Transportation Meeting – 2/13/01

Overview – A meeting with City Transportation staff was held to review the status of City projects and possible funding of traffic measures along the Parkway. This was the first joint meeting since August, 2000, as well as the first since the Association’s October community meeting.

Points Discussed - The following topics outline the discussion during the meeting with City staff and, afterwards, in a meeting of the Board and Transportation Committee.

Budgeted Funds

Transportation Director, Goran Sparmann, began the evening describing the City Council’s action, in adopting the budget at the close of 2000. Bellevue appropriates one year’s funding in its budget process, but also begins defining future needs for Capital (Fixed) Improvements. Under this process, Council moved forward a project intended to evaluate the needs of the Northup – Parkway intersection. Sparmann indicated that the Council doubled the funding to about $598,000 and programmed this evaluative project to occur in the year 2003. (The scope of the study was expanded to cover the length of WLS Parkway in Bellevue. Sparmann added later that the effort is not intended to re-invent the study that was competed in 1996 – to be efficient. He also underlined his recognition of the points of contention WLSA has expressed towards that earlier study.)

Petition Impact

Mr. Sparmann indicated that he has heard about WLSA’s October community meeting and has reviewed the language of the petition distributed at that time. He indicated that he has apprised the City Council that widening the Parkway would be financially prohibitive, but, in a similar fashion, was frank with WLSA members present at the meeting that Traffic Calming techniques are not an option along this arterial. (A proposed program for Area-wide Traffic Management might have contributed to such an effort, but it was rejected last fall by Council.)

An Arterial’s Dilemma

A discussion ensued in which City Transportation staff defined "Traffic Calming" measures as appropriate only for residential (non-arterial) streets. Their use would attempt to "change the direction of traffic", and as such could not be used along arterials. Likewise, they noted that random placement of stop signs would not be acceptable; that would only lead to speeding between the signs, or complete disregard for them.

Responding to the dismay of WLSA members, Transportation staff indicated that acceptable "features" for an arterial would be curbing and gutters, channelization, improved signs, or even roundabouts.

More Traffic Feared

Staff was asked to describe forthcoming improvements in other parts of the City. Members were quick to note that projects along I-405, while intended to improve traffic conditions and divert flow from City streets, will not be completed until 2005 (City’s ACCESS DOWNTOWN project) to 2018 (for WSDOT’s increases in I-405 capacity.) Concern was expressed that this will result in increased traffic on WLS Parkway until the projects are completed.

Sparmann assured WLSA members that the timeline will be shorter, more like 10 years, and emphasized City Council’s sincerity toward finding methods to mitigate these impacts. A summary of efforts along 148^th Ave. followed.

Annexation Anticipations

Several WLSA members pointed to statements made during the annexation process that joining the city would result in improved services. Members made reference to a quote in the February 2001 issue of "Bellevue – It’s Your City" (a publication of the City), that "…the City anticipates investing $26 million in capital improvements in the area in coming years."

Mr. Sparmann commented that the City will actually lose money overall through the annexation, but that routine services, such as police and fire, will be more responsive than under the County.

Board – Transportation Considerations

Following City staff’s presentation, the Board and Transportation Committee met to decide the appropriate course of action. It was decided that it is more important now, with prospects of increased traffic, to deliver its petitions to City elected officials, and that it would be best to provide them a series of low cost recommended projects for immediate action. Examples discussed included: neighborhood "courtesy" signs (to promote safe driving practices) and adoption of a uniform speed limit (30 mph). The merits of a signal at Vasa Park, for pedestrian crossing safety and to create gaps in traffic, were recognized by all, but the relative cost was questioned (low versus high).

The action plan, therefore, is to: