Bellevue's Transportation Director Wants to Ramp Up Spending on Cars

The City of Bellevue is kicking off budget season, and the head of the city's transportation department wants to ramp up spending on car infrastructure, even in the wake of Bellevue's brand new light rail connection to Seattle and the broader region.

At an April 21 city council meeting, Bellevue Transportation Director Andrew Singletakis delivered comments about initial spending priorities developed within the department, which seem at odds with multiple Bellevue councilmembers, who have voiced a desire to see Bellevue shift in a more multimodal, safety-focused direction.

Currently, Bellevue is set to spend around 30% of its transportation budget through 2030 on pedestrian and bike infrastructure, with another 20% set to go to "neighborhood mobility" projects throughout the city including traffic calming measures. The City intends to set aside 30% for "major projects," including the full construction of new roadways through the city's burgeoning growth areas like Spring District and Bel-Red, and 10% for basic road preservation and reconstruction, leaving 10% for upgrades intended to improve traffic flow and benefit drivers.

"We've been talking internally more along the lines of 25% for vehicle mobility, 25% for bike/ped, 25% for major projects, 15% for neighborhood and 10% for reconstruction," Singletakis told the Council, responding to a question from Councilmember Naren Briar about whether the allocation to neighborhood mobility was actually too low.

https://www.theurbanist.org/bellevues-transportation-director-wants-to-ramp-up-spending-on-cars/