Bellevue Transit Center

Bellevue Transit Center (BTC) is a bus station and future light rail station in Bellevue, Washington, a suburb of Seattle. It is the main transit hub for the Eastside of King County, serving 20 routes from King County Metro and Sound Transit Express. The transit center is the western terminus of the RapidRide B Line, which runs east to Redmond.

Bellevue Transit Center
View of Bellevue Transit Center from 108th Ave NE.
Location	10850 Northeast 6th Street Bellevue, Washington United States
Coordinates	47°36′56″N 122°11′37″W
Train operators	Sound Transit (planned)
Bus routes	20
Bus stands	12
Bus operators	King County Metro Sound Transit Express
Construction
Bicycle facilities	Bicycle lockers and racks
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	1985
Rebuilt	2002
Services
Preceding station     Following station Terminus B Line 116th Avenue NE toward Redmond Preceding station     Following station 105th Avenue NE toward Convention Place Route 550 Terminus   Future service   Preceding station     Following station East Main toward Northgate Line 2 (2023) Wilburton toward Redmond Technology

A Link Light Rail station will be built to the east of the transit center near the Bellevue City Hall. The station, to be named Bellevue Downtown, will be at the east portal of a tunnel and have two entrances at 110th and 112th avenues.

Location

Bellevue Transit Center is located on one block of Northeast 6th Street between Northeast 108th Street and Northeast 110th Street in Downtown Bellevue.[1]

History

Light Light Rail station under construction in 2018

The original transit center in downtown Bellevue was opened in 1985, at a cost of $5 million, consisting of 6 bus bays on Northeast 6th Street.[2] It was preceded by a temporary transit hub near the Puget Power Building established in 1982.[3]

A new, $21 million transit center at the site was built on the site in 2002, adding additional bus bays and modernizing the facility as part of the Sound Transit Express program.[4] The following year, additional amenities were added to the transit center as part of the project's second phase; a customer service kiosk, bicycle facilities, a public restroom, and a police station were added.[5] A direct access ramp to Interstate 405 for buses and carpools was also opened in 2004.[6]

Future

Bellevue Transit Center was selected as the site of a light rail station as part of the East Link Extension, funded by a regional vote in 2008 and scheduled to open in 2023. It is scheduled to begin construction in 2017.[7]

The station, to be named Bellevue Downtown station,[8] will be located to the east of the current transit center, along Northeast 6th Street between 110th and 112th avenues on the north side of the Bellevue City Hall. It will be at the east end of a tunnel under downtown Bellevue and the west end of an elevated bridge across Interstate 405 leading towards Wilburton station. The station will have two entrances, on 110th and 112th, and comprise two side platforms.[7]

The ballot measure that approved East Link in 2008 only included money for an at-grade alignment in Downtown Bellevue, leaving a $100 million to $200 million funding shortfall for a tunneled option that would have to be funded by an external source.[9] The city of Bellevue agreed to fund the remainder, but the placement of the station remained controversial as leaders were split between a tunneled station closer to the city center, a surface alignment, and an elevated station along I-405.[10] The final routing was approved in 2013 by the Bellevue City Council and Sound Transit, choosing an open-air station that would save $19 to $33 million compared to one inside the tunnel.[11]

Services

As of March 2016, Bellevue Transit Center is served by 12 King County Metro routes and 8 Sound Transit routes, with local and county-wide connections across the Puget Sound Area. Additionally, the facility offers bicycle racks, rider services, ORCA Card vending machines, and a kiss-and-ride passenger drop-off area.

Bus routes

Route	Bay(s)[12]	Termini	Via	Notes
B Line	3	Redmond	Overlake
226	1, 11	Eastgate	Crossroads, Lake Hills
232	7, 11	Duvall	Overlake, Redmond, Cottage Lake	Peak-only commuter route
234	10	Kenmore	Kirkland, Juanita
235	10	Kingsgate Park and Ride	Kirkland, Totem Lake
237	4, 10	Woodinville	Totem Lake, Kingsgate	Peak-only commuter route
240	1	Renton	Newcastle
241	1	Eastgate Park and Ride	South Bellevue
246	1, 12	Yarrow Point, Eastgate Park and Ride	Clyde Hill, Factoria, Somerset	Weekdays only
249	1, 12	South Bellevue Park and Ride, Overlake Transit Center	Overlake
271	5, 8	University District, Issaquah	Eastgate
342	4, 8	Renton, Shoreline	Newcastle, Kirkland, Bothell, Kenmore, Aurora Village TC	Peak-only commuter route
532	4, 8	Everett	Ash Way Park and Ride	Peak-only commuter route
535	4, 8	Lynnwood Transit Center	UW Bothell
550	9, 12	Downtown Seattle (Transit Tunnel)	Mercer Island
555	5, 8	Northgate Transit Center, Issaquah	UW Station, Eastgate	Peak-only commuter route
556	5, 8	Northgate Transit Center, Issaquah	Eastgate	Peak-only commuter route
560	6, 7	West Seattle	Renton TC, SeaTac Airport, Burien TC
566	6, 11	Overlake Transit Center, Auburn Station	Renton TC, Kent Station
567	6, 11	Overlake Transit Center, Kent Station		Peak-only commuter route

References

1. "Park & Ride Information - King County Metro Transit". metro.kingcounty.gov. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
2. Hayes, Janice (October 23, 1985). "Transit center getting cold shoulder". The Seattle Times. p. H1.
3. "Metro introducing Eastside transit center". The Seattle Times. February 17, 1982. p. F5.
4. "Senator Patty Murray Dedicates New Bellevue Transit Center" (Press release). Sound Transit. October 22, 2002. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
5. "City's updated transit center back tomorrow". The Seattle Times. September 27, 2002. p. B3.
6. Singer, Natalie (November 16, 2004). "I-405 ramp to funnel traffic into Bellevue - Car-pool lanes get direct access". The Seattle Times. p. B2.
7. "Bellevue Downtown Station". City of Bellevue. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
8. "Sound Transit Motion No. M2015-58: Adopting Station Names for East Link Extension" (PDF). Sound Transit. June 25, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
9. Ervin, Keith (July 28, 2011). "Sound Transit approves East Link light-rail route". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
10. Lindblom, Mike (February 8, 2010). "Light-rail 'vision' elevated track would run along I-405". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
11. Lindblom, Mike (April 25, 2013). "Sound Transit signs off on Bellevue's light-rail route". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
12. "Bellevue Transit Center Boarding Locations". King County Metro. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

External links

• Media related to Bellevue Transit Center at Wikimedia Commons