Neighborhood Sidewalk Program ramps up project list

The city of Bellevue’s Neighborhood Sidewalk Program has recently completed several big projects, and the program has more planned for next year.

The program, started in 2007, aims to increase pedestrian connections throughout the city. Kristi Oosterveen, transportation facility planning and programming coordinator, says the program consists of projects identified by resident submission or by the Neighborhood Enhancement Program (NEP).

One of the big projects completed this year were connections around the new Wilburton Elementary School. The city was asked to develop pathways on Northeast Second Street and 118th Avenue to the school, which also happen to be candidates for sidewalk improvement. The pathway on Main Street up to the school was also rehabilitated.

The city partnered with the Bellevue School District for two of the segments. City staff designed the project and the school district’s contribution helped offset the cost of construction.

Another big project still in the works is a sidewalk on the west side of 128th Avenue Southeast/Northeast from the International School to Northeast Second Street. Curb bump outs, traffic calming features, and bicycle shared lane markings will be added as well. The project was substantially completed in August, but is still a few weeks from full completion.

Oosterveen talked about how they address their priority projects lists as well. In addition to taking requests from residents, certain areas are identified to be in need of sidewalk rehabilitation by the NEP.

The NEP works with two Bellevue neighborhoods a year to identify the community needs and develop strategies and projects to address those needs. Oosterveen said the dollars available to the NEP are usually not enough to build a sidewalk facility, and so they come to the the sidewalk program to evaluate the potential project.

“We have created different sets of criteria we put the sidewalk locations through,” she said. “They vary from looking at the volume of cars on the street, collisions, proximity to activity centers, shopping, schools, libraries, major transportation transit routes.”

The Neighborhood Sidewalk Program works through the list in priority order. That list, Oosterveen said, is currently at 105 candidates. When the program was started in 2007, the funding was set at only $500,000 which wasn’t enough to design and build a sidewalk segment. Since then, only five projects had been completed until the beginning of the 2017 biennium.

However, Bellevue voters approved a 2016 transportation levy that allotted funding to the sidewalks program and backlog. According to Oosterveen, about $1.25 million is available for new sidewalks — more than double what the program previously had.

The levy has had an important impact and along with grant funding, it will allow the program to make more progress in coming years.

“One of the things to know about the levy,” she said, “it’s about not only helping with the backlog, it’s also helping with safety elements for neighborhood traffic safety.”

For upcoming projects, Oosterveen said the city is waiting to hear back on grant applications for three sidewalk projects by the end of November. One of those projects is a missing sidewalk on 119th Avenue Southeast from 52nd Street to 56th Street, just off of Newport Heights Elementary School. Those fixes also are planned to coincide with neighborhood traffic safety projects in the area.

More information on the Neighborhood Sidewalk Program can be found on the city’s website at transportation.bellevuewa.gov/safety-and-maintenance/traffic-safety/neighborhood-sidewalk-program.