Like many other communities, some streets in Bellevue were built in an era of cars. At that time, driving seemed the only viable way to get around in a suburban area. Along these streets, sidewalks are narrow and cars travel fast. There is no buffer between pedestrians and cars.

Such a street is 140th Avenue Northeast near Bel-Red Road. It is not pedestrian friendly.

Over time, more and more people start walking along 140th Avenue Northeast because of community destinations close by. Parents walk their children to Stevenson Elementary School a few blocks away. Young couples walk back to their apartments with Safeway grocery bags in hand. Employees hurry to their bus stops in the morning. Mothers push their babies in strollers to go to the park when the sun is out. It is a popular route.

Unfortunately, the street geometric layout does not match its popularity, which puts pedestrians, always the vulnerable party in accidents, in a precariously position. During the occurrence of an accident, there is no landscape buffer to hinder a car from wrongly going onto the sidewalk. Neither does the five-foot wide sidewalk leave any no space for pedestrians to maneuver.

Our streets put pedestrians at the mercy of drivers, some of whom do drive recklessly.

Safety is a fundamental right of all users of our streets. We need to make our streets much more forgiving for pedestrians. Pedestrians deserve safer streets.

Lei Wu

Bellevue