With light rail, “RapidRide” buses, a new floating bridge and changes on Interstate 405 to affect how people get to and through downtown Bellevue, the city has launched an effort to identify complementary transportation improvements that would support downtown growth.

Residents and others interested in downtown mobility can offer input about transportation issues they want addressed at an open house and “scoping” meeting from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.

Pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders and motorists are invited. They can look at mobility topic displays and ask staff questions from 4:30-5 p.m. Staff will make a presentation from 5-5:30, followed by an hour of table discussions about each mode of transportation.

Targeted for completion in early 2013, an updated Downtown Transportation Plan could set the stage for projects as big as new highway overpasses and streets and as small as lane modifications and tweaks in traffic signal timing. The plan is intended to be “multi-modal,” addressing needs not only for cars, but also for transit, pedestrians and cyclists.

Transportation projects for downtown are outlined in the city’s Downtown Subarea Plan, which was adopted in 2004, before East Link light rail or RapidRide buses were envisioned and a plan for transforming the Bel-Red area had been drafted. City planners are updating the Downtown Transportation Plan to address the changing transportation and development landscape.

In the fall of 2010 the City Council approved funding for the plan update, with the Transportation Commission to guide the effort. For details, visit:

www.bellevuewa.gov/downtown-transportation-plan-update.htm.