Deputy Mayor Kevin Wallace was upset by both the idea and delivery of a proposal by the city’s transportation department Monday night to cut a northbound lane on a segment of 116th Avenue Northeast to add bicycle lanes.

The proposal came up in a city manager’s report during Monday’s council meeting, and was prompted by the transportation department, which is finalizing road overlay contracts for 2015.

Transportation Director Dave Berg said the idea to remove a northbound lane on 116th, starting the transition about 600 feet north of the Northeast 12th Street traffic signal, to allow northbound and southbound bicycle lanes there came from the limited cost to modify the project and the call for such lanes in the future under Bellevue’s adopted pedestrian and bicycle plan. Further study and funding would be needed to widen 116th to avoid losing a driving lane, which doesn’t fit the timeline for this overlay project, he added. The northbound transition from two lanes to one is proposed to be completed at Northeast 15th.

Wallace said the proposal makes no sense when considering other projects in the Bel-Red corridor that are planned to increase capacity and what safety challenges could be created for nearby hospitals and firefighters using that stretch of road. He added putting the agenda item in the manager’s report was also a bad approach.

“I think it’s completely out of bounds to be talking about sacrificing a road right of way, a road lane for a bike lane, right in the heart of where we’re talking about and where we are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to generate this new capacity,” Wallace said.

Mayor Claudia Balducci pointed out the proposal brought by transportation will be vetted with the public, adjacent businesses and land owners before coming back to the council — all councilmembers agreed the transportation commission should also weigh in on the proposal.

“I’m just suggesting that perhaps ripping their heads off over it, now is not the time to do that,” Balducci told Wallace.

Reviews of traffic volumes were studied ahead of the proposal, according to a manager’s brief, which states 11,000 vehicles travel that stretch of 116th daily, split nearly evenly north and south. The 2013-24 transportation facilities plan also forecasts steady volumes there to remain steady into 2024.

Mark Poch, manager for the overlay project, said switching to one lane both ways should make it easier for people to exit their driveways along 116th, as well as allow for a potential crosswalk near Northeast 19th and 21st streets.