Washington State Commute Trip Reduction Board announced last week that Bellevue was one of the seven cities statewide, which was selected to get money for its Growth and Transportation Efficiency Center Program (GTEC). The program funded by the state Legislature will aim to reduce single-occupancy vehicles and make alternative transportation more appealing.
Interesting facts presented from GTEC regarding Downtown Bellevue:
- 35,000 currently work in Downtown Bellevue, 63,000 people are expected to work in Downtown in the next twelve years.
- 4,500 people currently live in Downtown Bellevue, 14,000 will live Downtown in the next twelve years.
- In 2005 71% of all Downtown transportation were solo drivers.
- Planners advise that shared driving must be 50% by 2020 for streets to remain functional.
This program that has $300,000 to work with aims to educate Downtown employers to provide guidance in commuting options. Some of these funds will be used to give rebates to employers providing transit passes, assistance to employers in setting up commute benefits, providing information to the downtown community and commuting options.
A Web site titled chooseyourwaybellevue.org will go live in mid November communicating different travel options.
