Bellevue Transportation Commission Meeting Summary - October 9, 2026

The Bellevue Transportation Commission met in a hybrid in-person/virtual session on October 9, 2026 (the chair opened the meeting as the 'October 8th' meeting, but the meeting record is dated October 9, 2026). Present were Chair McGill, Vice Chair Williams, and Commissioners Keelman (in person), Ting, and Welcher. The commission noted two vacancies created by the resignations of Commissioners Raboon and Stash. Members approved the agenda and minutes, heard two public comments, received a city council update from Deputy Mayor Dave Hamilton, reviewed newly completed Urban Core Bike Network projects, and held a study session on the 2026 Mobility Implementation Plan (MIP). The meeting adjourned at 8:07 PM.

Consent Calendar

• Agenda approved unanimously (motion: Commissioner Williams; second: Commissioner Ting).
• Meeting minutes approved unanimously (motion: Commissioner Keelman; second: Commissioner Ting).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Al Diedeman, a Vassa Park resident for over 30 years, said Attachment B to the agenda omitted arterials that have no shoulders and urged the commission to prioritize a minimum four-foot shoulder on all Bellevue arterial roads for pedestrian and bicycle safety. He described many transportation CIP projects as focused on driver inconvenience, including what he called 'vanity projects,' and said the city has neglected this basic necessity for 30 years.
• Alex Zimmerman, president of the 'Send Up America Party,' opposed new city taxes, claiming the City of Bellevue has a $1 billion budget and a $150 billion GDP from Amazon and Microsoft, and argued residents should not pay new taxes, including 'four car taxes.' He used profane and insulting language toward the city council. (These figures are the speaker's claims.)

Communications from City Council

• Deputy Mayor Dave Hamilton reported that the council has identified five finalist candidates for the two vacant commission seats and will interview them in about two weeks. He said transportation is the 'star of the show' in the city budget this year, with the council considering different funding approaches and ways to advance transportation projects, and more transportation work will mean more work for the commission. He encouraged commissioners to watch recorded council meetings on the city's YouTube channel.
• Responding to Vice Chair Williams, Deputy Mayor Hamilton clarified that the council's transportation budget meeting was held Tuesday, October 6, not October 7, and suggested watching the recording at 1.5x speed.

Staff Report: Urban Core Bike Network

• Staff (Kevin, with drone footage by colleague Chris Brayland) highlighted recently completed bike facilities, formerly known as the Bike Bellevue network:
  • 116th Ave NE north of Main St: bike lanes added by narrowing existing travel lanes; southbound lanes pick up at NE 4th; northbound lanes repurpose former car-dealership load/unload zones.
  • 100th Ave NE (west end of downtown), Main St to NE 1st: bike lanes installed by narrowing travel lanes, with green paint and bike logos at driveways; speeds and volumes are low enough to keep bicycle level of traffic stress (BLTS) consistent with the MIP target; bike signals are planned for the intersection.
  • Lake Washington Blvd: westbound begins with sharrows, then widens into bike lanes; eastbound has striped or buffered bike lanes from 99th to 100th/Main St; a short parking stretch was converted to bike space after strong neighborhood support during the Meydenbauer Bay phase 2 planning (about five or six spaces).
  • Main St east of 100th: sharrows deferred until the roadway is repaved in a couple of years; NE 1st and NE 2nd sharrows between Bellevue Way and 100th; new bike wayfinding installed.
• Commissioner Ting asked about downsides of narrowing travel lanes. Staff said narrower 10-foot lanes are used from a safety perspective, with more cautious driver behavior and no known collisions from the narrowing; most car dealerships have relocated from Wilburton, so there has been no negative feedback on the lost load/unload zones.
• Commissioner Gilman, an e-bike rider on Lake Washington Blvd, raised concerns about speeding cars, garbage and recycling bins placed in bike lanes, and visitor parking encroachment. Staff said parking enforcement outside downtown is a police matter and committed to research the city policy on trash cans in bike lanes and report back at the next meeting.

Study Session: 2026 Mobility Implementation Plan (MIP) Update

• Administrative updates: The MIP will reflect council-adopted speed limits from last summer, including a new 20 mph speed limit on certain downtown streets (Main St, NE 1st and 2nd, and 100th Ave NE south of NE 4th). The frequent transit network map will be updated for route changes, most notably the former Route 271, which was rerouted from Medina onto Bellevue Way to reach SR 520 and split into separate east/west segments at the Bellevue Transit Center; Medina retains a bus route, though possibly less frequent.
• PLTS/BLTS performance metric: Staff recommended using the adopted posted speed limit instead of the 1.2 speed factor currently used to estimate pedestrian and bicycle level of traffic stress (PLTS/BLTS), since measured speeds average close to posted limits and the 1.2 factor exaggerates gaps and diverts attention from places with no facilities. Staff noted that locations with no shoulder would still be rated worst-case (PLTS/BLTS 4), either through narrative or a new column in the table. Commissioner Ting supported the change and cited 132nd Ave NE between Bel-Red and NE 8th as a no-shoulder road where pedestrians walk through blackberry growth.
• A commissioner flagged apparent data anomalies in the packet, including a 2045 forecast BLTS citywide share that appears to drop from 34% (2025 MIP version) to 27% (2026 proposed version) despite lower posted speed limits, and a possible math error (2025 MIP citywide BLTS should be 32%, not 24%). Staff said they would double-check the data and report back at the next meeting.
• The commission voted unanimously (motion: Commissioner Ting; second: Commissioner Keelman) to approve staff's Option 1: use the adopted speed limit as the primary performance metric for PLTS/BLTS in the MIP.

Intersection Performance (V/C Ratio) Discussion

• Staff described intersections forecast to miss the volume-to-capacity (V/C) performance target in the 2044/2045 horizon. The targets are 1.0 in downtown, Bel-Red, and Wilburton; 1.9 in Crossroads, Factoria, and Eastgate (as stated in the transcript); and 0.85 in the rest of the city. Staff presented three options: (1) retain current targets and monitor intersections, developing project concepts case-by-case; (2) adjust performance targets at certain contexts, such as freeway-access ramps or the 148th Ave corridor; and (3) categorize intersections, such as improvable, state-controlled, or at 'ultimate build' with no feasible expansion. An example at 112th Ave NE and NE 8th St was shown: V/C of about 1.05 in 2024 rising to about 1.1 in 2045, and all feasible turn lanes would bring it to 0.99.
• Commissioners generally favored retaining the current performance targets (Option 1) for transparency. Commissioner Ting argued that changing metrics or creating permanent categories could 'sweep under the rug' the consequences of the 2045 growth plan, and that 148th, despite functioning as a regional corridor, still serves surrounding neighborhoods and should not be recharacterized. Commissioner Ting also stressed separating performance measurement from feasibility discussion. Vice Chair Williams noted that even where capacity cannot be expanded, the volume side could be addressed through multimodal investments and parallel corridors. Chair McGill suggested combining Option 1 with a separate designation and narrative for state-owned and operated intersections (e.g., Coal Creek Parkway/I-405 and 124th Ave NE/Northup Way for SR 520 access), noting the council's legislative agenda already seeks regional funding for those locations. No formal vote was taken; staff will return with a refined recommendation at the November meeting.

Quarterly Report to City Council

• The commission reviewed and unanimously approved the draft Transportation Commission report to the city council (motion: Commissioner Keelman; second: Vice Chair Williams). Staff will aim to have it in the November 3 council packet under reports from boards and commissions.

Key Outcomes

• Agenda, meeting minutes, and the quarterly report to city council were each approved unanimously.
• Motion passed unanimously to use the adopted speed limit (replacing the 1.2 factor) as the PLTS/BLTS performance metric in the 2026 MIP.
• No vote was taken on intersection options; staff will bring a recommendation in November. The November 12 commission meeting will focus on the MIP.
• Staff will verify the BLTS data anomalies and research the city policy on trash cans in bike lanes, with follow-up at the next meeting.
• Deputy Mayor Hamilton reported that interviews for the two vacant commission seats will occur in about two weeks.
• Assistant Director Molly Johnson reported that the council will choose among transportation budget alternatives in November, and staff will bring a full budget briefing to the commission on December 10, ensuring new commissioners can attend.
• A commissioner requested a future joint review of the city's capital projects website; staff said transportation project information on the site is current.