Notes on my hometown

TL;DR: Bellevue has done a good job so far, but needs to improve with housing affordability, housing stock, and transportation.

I grew up in the Cougar Mountain/Lakemont area of Bellevue, Washington. Although my neighborhood was certainly suburban, it had a bit more of a rural feel to it on account of large yards, good tree coverage, and a general sense of isolation. Sat near the top of Cougar Mountain, my family and I would occasionally catch amazing views of the Seattle and Bellevue downtowns on walks around the neighborhood. Most of the nearby roads lacked sidewalks, but that certainly didn’t keep my family and others from staying active. When we wanted to get away from everything, there were extensive well-maintained trails just minutes from our house, and when we wanted to throw a ball around with our dogs, there was a good-sized park just a couple hundred yards down the road. That park featured a new playground, installed maybe ten years ago, that I remember playing on when I was younger. When we didn’t want to walk down to the park to play, our house featured a large, secluded yard with plenty of space.

I was lucky to grow up where I did, in Bellevue. Although centered around automobiles, Bellevue’s transportation system worked for me. The roads were well maintained, traffic to school was never too bad, and the drive could even be described as scenic and beautiful. The streets near my high school were safe, well-designed and featured pleasant landscaping in the median and planting strip. When I wanted to walk, my experience was good, ignoring the vehicular noise. My high school itself was of good quality, well-funded and staffed a handful of teachers whom I could tell cared greatly about their job. Then, in the latter years, Bellevue did begin shifting its priorities, from automobiles to pedestrians and public transport. The East Link light rail opened just as I was graduating. I attended its opening day celebration, and I remember seeing the huge crowds of people excited about this new transit investment. So, I do think Bellevue is trending in the right direction.

However, there are certainly still a few big hurdles for Bellevue to cross. First, and the most severe issue, is housing affordability. Everybody is affected by housing affordability, directly or not. Of course, low-income workers are affected the most – unable to find living in the city, they’re forced to move further out and endure longer commutes. However, low-income workers form the base of our economy, representing our cleaners, service workers, and what’s left of Bellevue’s industry. The city council has the greatest power to address this. They have an array of avenues they could take – from zoning up parts of the city for more housing generally, to more targeted action such as social or subsidized housing. Seattle has seen great success with its Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program, which Bellevue could replicate. Developers also take some responsibility for affordable housing and should be focusing on it on new projects to alleviate the issue.

Then, with all these new people moving to Bellevue, there comes the issue of congestion. Bellevue is growing – fast. Bellevue’s preferred growth plan, released in 2024, expected 152,000 new homes within the next 20 years. That’s massive growth for a city with approximately 64,000 homes in 2024. Bellevue’s legacy car-centric design will surely be unable to handle all this new traffic, so instead the city must shift to new ways of managing congestion. The city has a good start with the new light rail line, but public transportation is likely not enough. With only twenty years to prepare, the city should instead turn to micro-mobility solutions like bicycles. Bellevue already has a decent bike lane network, but if the city were to expand it further, it could act as a convenient way for thousands of Bellevue citizens to get around cleanly, safely, and on time. City council should act now to build this network in preparation for the coming years.

Finally, the issue of culture in Bellevue, or the lack thereof. Although more minor compared to the aforementioned problems, people certainly do appreciate living in a “vibrant” place. I’ve seen many newcomers to Bellevue complain online about its lack of nightlife or arts scene. This issue could be and is being addressed by city council, as well as local non-profits. Bellevue recently opened an arts grant program, targeting small programs such as street performances.