The City of Bellevue is taking steps to manage parking spaces more effectively in busy areas like Downtown, Wilburton, and BelRed. With more people living and working in these neighborhoods, the demand for curbside parking has increased, and the city is looking for solutions to improve the current situation.
One of the key solutions is the Curb Management Plan (CMP), which includes a study on curb pricing. This entails charging for parking at the curb in a way that encourages faster turnover of spaces and makes it easier for drivers to find a spot.
The main goals of curb pricing in Bellevue are to keep curb parking at 80-85% occupancy to ensure spaces are used efficiently, create a fair and easy-to-understand pricing system, and improve parking turnover to reduce the time drivers spend searching for a space.
The city has begun collecting data to better understand parking patterns. Early findings show that in busy areas like Old Bellevue and the Spring District, curb occupancy often exceeds the 80% target, especially during peak times like lunch hours (11 AM–1 PM) and evenings. Also, many drivers are exceeding the 2-hour parking limit, with 20-50% of vehicles staying past the allowed time.
To make sure the public has a chance to give their feedback, Bellevue is developing a Community Engagement Plan. In early 2025, the city will start hosting public meetings, surveys, and focus groups to gather input from businesses, residents, and visitors about curb pricing and how it could impact them.
Important Dates:
- Early 2025: Community engagement begins.
- March 2025: City will share early findings and discuss implementation.
- Fall 2025: Transportation Commission will review and make recommendations on curb pricing.
- Late 2025: City Council will consider and vote on the curb pricing plan.
Public outreach will continue throughout 2025 as the plan moves forward.
Amusing. For years the city mothers and fathers have increased density and reduced parking because it will be a “walking” city. Looks like you were wrong like we all told you during the height and density meetings. What an embarrassment
Letting people store their cars for free isn’t the way to create a walkable city. Space in Bellevue is expensive. We shouldn’t be giving it away for free. Charging for parking is a way to make it more likely you’re going to find parking when you need it.
Bellevue was built for cars. We’re not changing that fact, sadly. But we don’t have to throw free parking on top of it.
This whole discussion is nonsense. Bellevue has no real public transit and it’s hard to get anywhere without a car.
Build more parking and make it easier to access. If you start charging you’ll just have fewer people coming .
What.A.Joke.
How on earth will charging people to park at curbs improve Bellevue?
This is a way to invoke extra taxation for residents, in a city that already has some of the most exorbitant , outrageous, property taxation in the entire country.
This is a sad statement about city management , and how out of touch those who serve in these capacities have become.
Soooo.. this is a well PR’d piece trying to gaslight the public into feeling grateful that the city is going to tax them more to park vehicles in a place that is already becoming increasingly less affordable to park? Treating what should be a public service with as a Supply-&-Demand model is corrupt
I completely agree with Bob and Isaac. Bellevue is a great place to live and shop, but it is extraordinarily expensive. Is this just a ruse to squeeze more money out of those of us who live and shop here? If the issue is really management of parking spaces, as the proponents claim, then they should put on their thinking caps and come up with some proposals to develop more parking spaces or alternate ways of managing existing spaces. It is insulting enough to have to pay for parking in privately owned spaces such as Lincoln Square and Overlake Medical Center. We should not have to pay to park in city controlled spaces on streets that we already pay taxes for to maintain. What is next — having to pay to park in front of our homes?
Excellent points Frank, Isaac and Bob. Bellevue has always been known as a well managed City that knew how to manage financial resources while providing value to its residents and business owners. This parking move simply furthers the WA State momentum to increase taxes and reduce efficiency and accountability.
Bellevue is dying! Join the club. SEATTLE welcomes you.
Nobody wants this
Bellevue should encourage drivers to have capsule reduction technology added to their existing cars, so people can reduced their parked car into a capsule, then they can just carry it in their pocket. But I guess the city wouldn’t make as much money if drivers did that.
People with more money will be able to find parking, the working class who can’t afford the new tax will be once more left out.
Enforce the current park rules, create and follow strict rules for these 1000 floors buildings, don’t punish people with more taxes.
Nuh-uh. While the City states its goals are related to efficiency and turnover, the implementation of pricing can easily become a revenue stream (it usually is). It’s important to be transparent about how the revenue generated from parking fees will be used. Ideally, it should be reinvested in transportation improvements that benefit the community. Curb pricing on its own may simply push parking congestion to nearby residential areas or streets without meters. This creates new parking problems for residents and shifts the burden rather than solving the underlying issue of parking availability. There’s no alternative to using the car to go downtown. Why not invest in and improve public transportation options such as bus routes? By providing a convenient and reliable bus service, more people are encouraged to leave their cars at home. This directly reduces the number of vehicles on the road, easing traffic congestion, especially during peak hours. Fewer cars on the road translate to less demand for parking spaces in busy areas.
How will this money be used? Why doesn’t Bellevue instead build a large, public parking garage or set up a better bus system than the CIrcuit vehicles? I’ve tried three times to get a Circuit ride and I always get a notice that it’s canceled. We need a better and free bus throughout downtown, Old Bellevue, Bel-red and the Spring District.