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Bellevue study session lays out $1.5 billion transportation need and explores a Transportation Benefit District
Summary
City staff told the council that Bellevue faces roughly $1.5 billion in transportation needs over 20 years and presented a portfolio approach and a TBD scenario that could raise about $13 million a year; council members pressed staff on safety prioritization, equity, and what would change under a sales-tax or vehicle-fee TBD.
City transportation staff told the council that Bellevue's projected growth will add roughly 250,000 weekday round trips by 2044 and that the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) aggregates about $1.5 billion in capital need. Andrew Singalakis, the city's transportation director, said the base-revenue scenario covers about $686 million over 20 years and that a Transportation Benefit District (TBD) could close much of the gap if the council elects to augment revenues.
The presentation outlined five program areas—ped-bike mobility, major projects, vehicle mobility, neighborhood mobility and preservation—and staff said the portfolio approach helps match revenues to types of deliverables and makes trade-offs more transparent. Mark Poe, deputy director, noted the TIP-based needs include roughly $500 million in major projects and nearly $500 million in pedestrian/bike work.
On funding, staff estimated a council-authorized sales-tax increase could yield about $11 million annually and a $20 vehicle registration fee about $2 million, producing roughly $13 million a year in new TBD revenue and an approximate $250 million total over 20 years under the scenario staff modeled. John Risha, chief financial officer, explained the distribution of the sales-tax burden: roughly one-third residents, one-third businesses, one-third visitors, while the vehicle-fee would be borne mainly by residents.
Council members focused their questions on safety and equity. Several members pressed staff to prioritize projects that reduce serious crashes and close first-mile/last-mile gaps to transit, and asked for clearer scoring weights and for the staff to publish the prioritization method. Mark Poe said safety and Vision Zero criteria are the top-weighted factors in initial scoring (about 25% of score) and that staff will include more detail in the supplemental materials to be provided with the September preliminary budget.
Council members also discussed councilmanic versus voter-authorized TBD options. Staff said a councilmanic TBD (enacted by the council without a public vote) is possible and noted trade-offs: quicker delivery versus the political and timing costs of mounting a ballot measure. Staff said they will return in September with a baseline (no new revenue) and with separate TBD scenarios that isolate the sales-tax and vehicle-fee options so council can evaluate each component independently.
What's next: staff will present a preliminary balanced 6-year CIP and an optional TBD-enhanced CIP in the September preliminary budget and will return in October with more detailed budget materials and program-level project lists.
