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NO NEW I-405 INTERCHANGE!

Road expansion is not the right choice for Bellevue residents and our climate future

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Photo by BDOT

Bellevue’s Department of Transportation and WSDOT are currently studying several alternatives for a new automobile interchange for I-405 south of Downtown. City officials claim it will “reduce congestion” and “help people… walking, biking, riding transit, or driving”, but these statements are demonstrably false. A new interchange will only add more cars to our streets and more pollution to our air, making Bellevue both less safe and harder to navigate for drivers and non-drivers alike. This is exactly the wrong kind of investment and will slow our transition to a cleaner, greener, more vibrant city. Instead, we need to invest this money in greener transportation infrastructure and more sustainable development. Let’s send a clear message to Bellevue City Council that we don’t need or want more automobile infrastructure.

Here are three easy steps you can take right now to tell Bellevue “No New Interchange!”

  1. Fill OUT THE SURVEY – CLOSED

The Engaging Bellevue survey closed on August 21st. Thank you to all who responded! There will be an additional survey in November, and we will include relevant instructions here once that survey has been published.

  1. CONTACT YOUR COUNCILMEMBERS

In addition to completing the Transportation Department’s survey, it’s important that we reach out to the City Council directly to let them know how counterproductive it is to expand roads and car capacity as we try to stop climate change and encourage more sustainable transportation. Navigate to this page to fill out an Action Network petition, which will send an email to all councilmembers detailing why this project is incompatible with Bellevue’s Environmental Stewardship Initiative, transportation goals, and overall vision. 

  1. SPREAD THE WORD!

To stop this project in its tracks, we need a broad range of community voices speaking out and showing up. Please share this site with your friends, family, colleagues, neighbors, and anybody in Bellevue who cares about the health of our city’s environment, economy, transportation, and people. Follow our page on Twitter for information about other ways to get involved. Transportation staff will present Council with survey feedback at the beginning of September – show up, stay informed, and speak out!

If you’re still not convinced (or just want more information), read more to find out why this interchange is bad for our environment, will not relieve congestion, and doesn’t mesh with Bellevue’s values. 

Header photo by Jon Clarke