As a regular commuter on the Sound Transit 550 bus, I’m very concerned about the pending closure of the South Bellevue Park-and-Ride lot. According to Sound Transit, this closure could happen as early as November as it becomes a “staging area” for planned construction of light rail.

As I wait for the bus I will sometimes ask people where they plan to park when the closure takes place. The most common response is “What?!” Followed by “I had no idea this lot was closing!”

While Sound Transit has plans for about half of the 500 or more cars currently using the lot, that leaves 300 or so without a place to park. In addition, some of the lots Sound Transit wants us to use are inconveniently located in places like Crossroads and Renton, which could add as much an hour to our commutes.

If this concerns you, as it does me, please contact your Bellevue City Council (council@bellevuewa.gov; councilcoordinators@bellevuewa.gov; 425-452-7810) and Sound Transit (paige.cureton@soundtransit.org; 206-903-7032) to respectfully ask that disruptive plans such as this be revealed in a more timely, transparent manner.

Martha Lane

Enatai