Bellevue council considers new light-rail route

In a new development for light rail in South Bellevue, the Bellevue City Council expressed interest Tuesday in a new alignment that would largely bypass Bellevue Way Southeast.

The new alignment would include a station at the South Bellevue Park & Ride, but the line would then cross Mercer Slough Nature Park and join up with the BNSF Railway tracks heading north to downtown.

The council voted 4-3 last year to recommend a line to Sound Transit that left Interstate 90 at Bellevue Way, stopped at a Bellevue Park & Ride station and continued north on Bellevue Way. The Sound Transit board also recommended that option for further study.

But some South Bellevue residents have been unhappy with that recommendation, saying they prefer a route that skirts Bellevue Way and instead joins the BNSF route parallel to Interstate 405, pushing the light-rail line away from their neighborhoods.

But routing the rail along the BNSF tracks would also put it near some condo complexes.

"There's no good, easy decision," Councilman John Chelminiak said during Tuesday's discussion. "No matter what you do, you're going through environmentally sensitive areas. No matter what you do on the south segment you're going near people's homes."

The route variation proposed Tuesday would expand the South Bellevue Park & Ride, adding a new station south of the existing lot. The light-rail route would then run eastward about 2,000 to 3,000 feet north of I-90 across the Mercer Slough Nature Park, city staff said.

The council also asked the city staff to draft a letter to Sound Transit asking the agency to study the new alternative.

The City Council does not have the final say on light-rail alignment in Bellevue. The Sound Transit board, which includes newly appointed Bellevue Councilwoman Claudia Balducci, will make the final decision on alignment later this year. Light-rail service to Bellevue is projected to start in 2020.

Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com