The fanatical shoppers hitting the midnight sales and Friday's 5 a.m. siren song probably won't have any trouble with traffic. The rest of us, however, might be the ones endlessly circling Bellevue Square.

The city of Bellevue's traffic engineers would rather you not do that. And in fact are actively discouraging it with a "No Right Turn" sign eastbound on Northeast Eighth that will prevent shoppers from turning right onto Bellevue Way when the traffic is heavy, said city traffic spokesman David Grant. Police could be enforcing the no-turn sign.

But the engineers, who will be monitoring traffic and adjusting light signal times during peak hours, also have some sage advice that comes from years of watching holiday traffic. Here are their suggestions for navigating Black Friday and downtown Bellevue traffic in general during the holiday season:

• The best time to shop? Late evening or early morning, when stores have extended hours. Downtown Bellevue's traffic peaks from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3-5 p.m. on Black Friday and 1-4 p.m. Saturday. Congestion at Crossroads, Factoria and Overlake usually comes about an hour later than downtown Bellevue and closer to normal peak traffic hours.
• Avoid Northeast Eighth and Fourth streets and southbound Bellevue Way in general. People headed westbound on Northeast Eighth and turning left onto Bellevue Way will see the longest delays. The best alternatives are driving westbound on Bel-Red Road (Northeast 12th Street), Eighth, Northeast Second or Main streets to 100th Avenue Northeast, and parking in the garage near JCPenney. Try to avoid the garages near Macy's or Nordstrom in general, but particularly late in the day.
• Park at Lincoln Square or Bellevue Place instead of the Macy's garage and walk.
• The Bravern could affect traffic both directions on Northeast Eighth Street, but the city is not certain yet what kind of impact the new luxury development will have. Engineers will adjust signal timing based on what they see.