Noting that traffic levels are not high enough to need two northbound lanes, the City of Bellevue has proposed bike lanes on a segment of 116th Ave NE between NE 12th St and Northup Way.
This project would help improve a key bike route connection between the 520 Trail, Redmond and beyond into downtown Bellevue. It would also connect planned bike lanes on Northup Way (scheduled for 2016) to the NE 12th Street bridge, which provides a rare quality bike crossing of I-405. Since crossing freeways is often the biggest challenge to getting around on a bike, this is a smart connection for Bellevue to make.
The project, which could be completed in 2015 if all goes according to schedule, would also have essentially zero trade-offs. Traffic studies show that the street only carries 11,000 vehicles per day, about half the number that can be comfortably carried by the proposed three-lane street design (plus more in the new bike lanes). The street currently has two northbound lanes but only one southbound lane despite the fact that travel is essentially equal in each direction.
“The volume occurring now in the northbound direction can be readily accommodated by only one through lane, as evidenced by the single southbound through lane today,” the Department of Transportation said in a memo to the Council last week. Redesigning the existing street is also a very cost-effective way to make the bike route link.
Nonetheless, the project has received pushback from Deputy Mayor Kevin Wallace, according to Bellevue Reporter. (more…)
