Plans for a new elementary school to serve Wilburton, the Spring District and Downtown Bellevue are being met with mixed reactions by community members, some of whom have raised concerns over traffic.

“Traffic has been, since day one, the issue,” said Bob Shay, president of the Wilburton Community Association.

The Bellevue School District is currently developing a new elementary school on Main Street to serve the Wilburton, Downtown and Spring District neighborhoods and relieve overcrowding at Enatai, Woodridge and Clyde Hill elementary schools. District enrollment has been growing steadily by roughly three percent, or around 600 students, annually.

That is roughly the student body of one elementary school, according to Melissa DeVita, deputy superintendent of finance and operation for the district.

The area was once served by the Wilburton Elementary School, which closed in 1983, according to the Eastside Heritage Center.

Residents are not opposed to the new elementary school, Shay said, but are concerned about the impacts on traffic.

“As far as the school goes, we’re thrilled,” he said. “But, this will serve not only Wilburton, but other neighborhoods. The district is planning for the future, obviously, but we’re concerned about the traffic being pulled in.”

Of those in attendance at community meetings held by the district, roughly half have had concerns about the development, according to project manager Kyle McLeod.

Of particular concern is the amount of traffic being brought onto Main Street and 124th Avenue Northeast, Shay said. He said some residents felt that having the school entrance and bus drop-off be located on Northeast 1st Street would potentially help with traffic and keep the neighborhood relatively quiet.

As a part of the traffic study, different traffic scenarios, points of high traffic and other considerations were analyzed by transportation officials. The Main Street entrance was found to be the most viable.

Preexisting factors such as the three wetlands bordering the site make Northeast 1st Street a difficult option for the school’s entrance. Two of the wetlands are regulated and have spacing requirements, McLeod said, and to build near them would complicate the build as it would require working around city codes and obtaining federal permits.

“We didn’t just pick Main Street to pick Main Street,” McLeod said.

The district recently submitted a permit application to the city, according to McLeod. He said that the district is expecting to receive feedback from the city in the first few weeks of 2016.