2005 State of Mobility Report - City of Bellevue

CHAPTER 2
Regional Transportation Policy and Advocacy
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Bellevue’s strength as an urban center draws, in part, from its convenient access to and from three regional
facilities that tri-sect our City: State Route 520 (SR 520), Interstate 405 (I-405), and Interstate 90 (I-90). What
happens on these corridors directly affects the operational efficiency of our local transportation system.
Therefore, it is imperative that Bellevue representatives work cooperatively with regional, state, and federal
partners to address increasing congestion on the regional freeways to prevent spillover traffic from clogging
city streets and cutting through adjacent neighborhoods.
A Vision For Regional Transportation
Bellevue is committed to working with regional
transportation providers to improve mobility by
adding new capacity — whether by new general
purpose lanes, carpool lanes, local transit, or mass
transit — depending upon the associated land
uses and travel market demands. Policy guidance,
provided by the City’s Comprehensive Plan and
Regional Transportation Vision, supports the
success of Bellevue’s partnership and advocacy
efforts related to regional transportation issues.
In November 2004, the Bellevue City Council
adopted a revised regional transportation vision,
known as the Regional Mobility Interest Statement
(RMIS). The RMIS promotes an ambitious agenda
of multi-modal improvements on SR 520, I-405,
and I-90. (See Appendix A-2 for a map of the these
regional corridors.) This updated vision reflects
progress made on several regional projects and
establishes guiding principles for future project
implementation.
Through the Regional Mobility Interest Statement,
the City continues its commitment to support new
funding for freeway, high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV),
regional bus, and high capacity transit (HCT)
improvements along the priority corridors serving
Bellevue. The RMIS outlines three broad policy
themes to guide these efforts:
1) A focus on overall regional mobility policies to:
• improve mobility on regional corridors serving
urban centers;
• support economic development; and
• reinforce local and regional land use and
transportation plans.
2) A focus on neighborhood and local support
policies to:
• minimize impacts on neighborhoods;
• build upon the City’s transit plan; and
• provide opportunity for meaningful public
involvement.
3) A focus on regional transportation investment
policies to:
• advocate for new funding;
• advance high-performance corridor and
project-level solutions;
• leverage regional investments through
reasonable local investments; and
• build strong support for multi-modal
investments.
See Appendix A-3 for the complete text of the
updated Regional Mobility Interest Statement.
Encourage enhanced access and improved freeway interchanges to serve downtown Bellevue and other key
activity centers.
Comprehensive Plan Policy TR-91
2005 State of Mobility Report Chapter 2
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