Bellevue 108th Ave Bikeway Seen As Success, May Be Expanded

BELLEVUE, WA — Almost a year after it opened, Bellevue is taking a look back at the performance of the 108th Avenue demonstration bikeway, finding that bikers, pedestrians, and drivers feel much safer with the bikeway in place.

At the March 28 meeting, the city Transportation Commission voted to endorse keeping the bikeway in place through 2019. The commission was also handed proposals to expand bike lanes along Main Street connecting with the 108th Ave bikeway.

The city Transportation Department presented an evaluation of the bikeway at the Transportation Commission meeting. Here are some key findings:

• Average daily bike ridership increased 35 percent overall since the bikeway opened
• The daily average travel time for cars actually decreased: from 2.5 to 2.1 minutes southbound and 2.6 to 2.3 minutes northbound between Northeast 4th and Northeast 8th streets
• A poll of all users — drivers, walkers, and bikers — found that 65 percent favored building more bike lanes in Bellevue
• About 4,500 bikeshare trips used 108th in the first six months of it being open, the highest amount along any street in Bellevue
• The number of collisions along the corridor (including cars and pedestrians) stayed about the same, but there have been no bicycle collision since the bikeway opened
• Bicyclists have largely stopped using sidewalks and streets to ride along 108th, with about 85 percent electing to use the bikeway

Two commissioners, Todd Woosley and Vic Bishop, did vote against keeping the 108th Ave bikeway in place. Commission member Khek Teh was absent.

The next step for bike lanes in Bellevue might be an expansion along Main Street. The city Transportation Department gave the Transportation Commission two proposals for connecting the 108th Ave bikeway with east and west lanes to Bellevue Way.

In one scenario, a buffered bike lane would stretch from 108th east along Main Street to 105th, linking with an existing bike lane near Bellevue Way. The city would build a parking-protected bike lane westbound between 108th and 106th, and then a buffered lane from 106th to Bellevue Way.

The second scenario, which may have a lower impact on vehicle travel, would also build a buffered lane eastbound between 108th and 105th. There would be a buffered westbound lane between 108th and 107th, and then and existing bike lane would be extended from 106th to 107th.

The Transportation Commission did not take any action on those proposals, choosing to spend time reviewing them at future meetings.

Click here to read the full 108th Ave bikeway assessment report.