Bellevue Urban Issues Thread

light rail connection, smaller blocks since bellevue has got those huge super blocks unlike seattle. citywide growth plans other than just downtown bellevue. they focus too much on downtown bellevue. that's all I can think of.

sequoias said:

light rail connection, smaller blocks since bellevue has got those huge super blocks unlike seattle. citywide growth plans other than just downtown bellevue. they focus too much on downtown bellevue. that's all I can think of.

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Yea, but I think they are only considering an elevated line or a tunnel through downtown. I am so glad they have decided not to put the light on the streets..

The density of downtown Bellevue is good, but I would also like to see increased development in the I-90 corridor, Factoria, and even the East/Crossroads/Microsoft corridor. Spread the development out a bit to maintain a healthy economic dynamic throughout the region. Transportation will follow.

I like to see City of Bellevue to divide its downtown area neighborhoods and add the characters to it just like Seattle, New York, and Chicago.

Traffic! With the increase in office space what is going to happen to all the traffic. The tunnel idea makes sense, but where will it exit? 405?

^^ Good point! Right now Sound Transit 2 plan to add new light rail though downtown Bellevue if this ballot passes this November election. If it passes and get built... It should help reduce some traffics.

By the way, WELCOME TO SSC! :cheers:

Sound Transit 2 is interesting. The Burlington Northern railway is under a study, but I haven't heard much about that right of way? It travels through kirkland, totem lake and woodinville and is about 100 feet wide. It's a small blip on the sound transit proposal but for the eastside I think it's huge. Maybe a big transit station at NE 6th and 116th? Take people right to the heart of the business district via the pedestrian corridor?

^^ Everything what you want to know about this Sound Transit 2 can be found this link: http://www.soundtransit.org/x1768.xml

Besides ST2 running as a tunnel through Downtown, I'd want to see a revitalized theater district that extends beyond 6th and Bellevue Way. I really want to see more pedestrian traffic along the Pedestrian Walkway and just between Bellevue Square and Bellevue Galleria on 106th; hopefully Bellevue Towers can contribute to that.

Wow! Looks like something for Vegas.

OOOOOOOO I like that! That would be really fun if it went between the stadiums through Cap Hill and Pikes market then finish at Seattle Center. I wonder if there is a way it could go from Monorail on peak hours and then to People Pods for off hours; seems like that might be a little more efficient. :dunno:

microsoft campus is proposing that kind of technology but I haven't heard anything about that lately.

^^ Really? I didn't hear anything about that yet...

I think People Pods are great idea... Very cheaper to build it than compared to monorail or light rail.

The system is technically called a "personal rapid transit system"

I once read an editorial by a guy claiming that Seattle should have built a PRT system rather than a light rail system. The article mentioned a proposal by a city council member of Minneapolis laying out a system for their down town.

Really interesting stuff, but never really been done on a large scale before. However, a lot of technology developed for PRT test systems has found its way into other forms of transit (fully automated trains for instance).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_rapid_transit

^^ I believe they can design ones for large ones just like bus size vehicle.

I'm not a big fan of this type of transit....but West Virginia University built one in the '70s for its students. And this is more like "group rapid transit" since it can hold more people.

http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/transit/Morgantown/

In my opinion, I don't really like personal rapid transits because we don't want too many guideways all over the place and make it look like an eyesore. I would rather have ONE line with light rail, monorail, heavy rail, etc. That's why we have buses to bring people to the hub. People need to exercise to the station, not just hop in and take that. Americans are getting lazier!

What do you guys think of the city's plan to make 106th and 108th one way streets? 106th will be north bound and 108th will be south bound under the city's proposal.