Downtown Bellevue Walking Tours Planned to Help Improve the Pedestrian Experience

Bellevue city planners invite the public to a series of conversations and walks downtown on Thursday and Saturday to help the city identify ways to improve the downtown pedestrian experience.

Findings from the walks will be used in the Downtown Transportation Plan Update, a comprehensive look at transportation strategy to accommodate expected growth downtown over the next two decades.

Each walk will take about 90 minutes and begin with a short presentation by Feet First, a Seattle-based walking advocacy group, to describe the purpose of the walk and how to contribute ideas. If it’s raining, participants should bring rain gear or an umbrella; the walks will go rain or shine.

At lunch-time on Thursday the walking tour will cover the central part of downtown, focusing on a sample of destinations for lunch, shopping, transit or errands. A short presentation will begin at 11:45 a.m. Sign-up will be in the lower lobby of the Key Center Tower at the northwest corner of Northeast Sixth Street and 108th Avenue Northeast, across from the Bellevue Transit Center. The walk will wrap up by 1:15 p.m.

The Saturday walk will follow a route on the north side of downtown. Residents are invited to share their experiences walking downtown. The overview presentation will begin at 9 a.m. at (10600 NE Ninth Pl.), and the walk will conclude at 10:30 p.m.

According to the city, the Downtown Transportation Plan is part of the city's downtown plan that was adopted in 2004. The transportation included a horizon extending out to 2020 – a date that is rapidly approaching and the city says there is a need to plan further out to 2030 to assure the downtown transportation system can function well and support expected new jobs and housing in the longer term. The plan update will consider and incorporate forecasted growth in population and employment through 2030. This updated and extended planning effort will include planned transit improvements such as King County Metro's RapidRide bus service and East Link light rail, according to the city.

For more information, please contact Kevin McDonald (425-452-4558 or kmcdonald@bellevuewa.gov) or visit http://ww.bellevuewa.gov/downtown-transportation-plan-update.htm.

-- Information from the City of Bellevue