As anticipated, the Bellevue City Council selected a preferred light rail route, which would largely affect the future of transportation in the downtown core of Bellevue.
The council’s priorities, according to their release, were based on the following:
- Building a regional transit system that connects the area’s 3 largest employment centers: downtown Seattle, downtown Bellevue, and Microsoft’s main campus in Redmond.
- Utilizing a light rail route, including a downtown tunnel, that supports “smart growth” policies aimed at concentrating development in urban areas.
- Protecting neighborhoods and commercial districts from impacts during and after construction of East Link.
- Choosing a route that maximizes ridership, while minimizing travel times.
- Providing a fast, reliable, and environmentally friendly alternative to solo driving.
The chosen route by the council is an underground tunnel, which would run west on Main Street from 112th Ave and north on 106th Ave NE, and then east on NE 6th St underneath the city’s transit center. “The tunnel is an absolute necessity,” Bellevue Mayor Grant Degginger said. “If light rail is built on surface streets, we believe the downtown area could become a chokepoint for the entire East Link system.”
Sound Transit will take into consideration both the public and the council’s recommendations over the last 75-day public comment period and voice their own preferred route in April, for the East Link Light Rail system. The Sound Transit Board will make an ultimate decision in mid-2010.
Image Credit: City of Bellevue
