Downtown Bellevue used to be a fun place to go. Main street was the one part of Bellevue that had been kept intact with individual shops, not box stores. City Park was interesting and attractive with original art. There were a variety of stores and it was easy to get around to all these places.

It used to be a very livable, attractive city that one could brag about.

Not anymore! High buildings and growth are rampant. There is no place to park for Main Street or City Park and traffic becomes worse every day. We have our wonderful Bellevue City Council to thank for this. But destroying a livable downtown is not enough. Take a look at the east side of Bellevue. Small businesses that were once in small malls are gone! Instead, these are all being torn down and high rise buildings are taking their place. Community livability goes! Not surprisingly, traffic is getting worse and worse. No input, of course, from residents who actually live here.

And now, our forward-looking Bellevue City Council has added another business person to their group. At least he mentioned preserving the nature of our neighborhoods. That sounds good but when big money comes along from builders and others in “big business,” that idea will be long gone.

Maybe those of us who live here should be able to vote for city council members and who becomes mayor.

Marie Thompson

Bellevue