After an MBNA meeting with city officials and police about issues of common interest, the representatives of the Whalers Cove and The Vue condominiums (between 99th and 100th avenues on Lake Washington Blvd.) sent a letter to Bellevue City Manager Brad Miyake with the following concerns:

• Current plans for the new Meydenbauer Bay Beach Park include only simple crosswalks on Lake Washington Blvd (LWB) at 99th Ave.
  
• The new park will draw many new visitors seeking to cross LWB, many after dark under the current plan to allow park visitors up to 11 pm. 
• Even without the park, crossing LWB anywhere but at the 100th traffic light or the 94th crosswalk is hazardous given the curve and the speeding traffic on LWB.
• We also noted the new flashing lights in two places along 100th Ave. for pedestrians using the new Downtown Park; we believe LWB should get at least equal, if not better, pedestrian protection.
• The City’s current posture seems to be to wait a year after the Park is opened to see if there is sufficient demand for more pedestrian protection. 

In a response to our letter, the City’s Traffic Engineering Manager, Chris Long, said this project will be added to the current prioritized list for funding consideration in the fall.  Since he recognized that the crossing will benefit from infrastructure put in place by the Parks department, the cost of any future installation will be reduced.
 
A facility being built under current traffic conditions should have the necessary safety measure put in place coincident with park construction.  We intend to continue our efforts to ensure greater pedestrian safety, mitigating the possibility of a tragic accident at this increasingly busy pedestrian crossing.
 
We need your help--support MBNA’s efforts by communicating with City Hall & City Council on this issue.  City Council members should welcome the opportunity to stand up for public safety.  Emails to the City Manager can be sent to Brad Miyake at BMiyake@bellevuewa.gov.
 
As you know, the MBNA runs on donations. We are a 501c3 corporation, and your donations are tax deductible. Donations can be made using Paypal or mail check to:

MBNA
227 Bellevue Way NE, PMB 278
Bellevue WA 98004

The Meydenbauer Bay Neighbors Association will hold this year’s Candidate Forum on Thursday, Oct. 12 at 7 PM at Overlake Golf and Country Club.
 
The Candidates will address important issues facing Bellevue, including:

• Traffic
  
• Parking
• Homelessness
• Neighborhood Development
• Safety

 
This Forum will allow you to meet the Candidates and the Candidates to present their positions on the issues so we can make the best choices to govern the City of Bellevue after the November elections.
 
The Forum will be held at Overlake Golf and Country Club, 8000 NE 16th Street in Medina.  There is plenty of parking available.  Refreshments will be provided and there is no charge for attending the Forum.

Traffic congestion continues to be a big problem for Bellevue communities. One street that directly impacts the flow from the neighborhoods surrounding Meydenbauer Bay is Bellevue Way. In response to increased traffic along Bellevue Way, the City is exploring options to build a new southbound Bellevue Way HOV lane to increase capacity and improve transit speed and reliability.

To gather additional public input, an open house is coming up on Thursday, January 19 from 5 to 7PM at City Hall. This open house will present two different roadway width concepts and two phasing options for the length of the project. 

According to the City’s announcement, however, at a previous open house “participants supported improvements to traffic flow, but strongly opposed private property impacts. Many also questioned the need for the project, noting that the impacts likely outweigh the potential benefits." See bellevuewa.gov/pdf/Transportation/bellevue_way_hov_full_feedback.pdf.

If you would like to learn more about the project, share your opinions and talk with the project staff, please join members of the Board of the Meydenbauer Bay Neighbors Association at this open house on January 19.

Last week the results of the Bellevue City Council primary were announced.   There are six candidates for the three Council seats to be filled:

Position 3 -- Don Davidson vs.  John Chelminiak
Position 5 -- Michelle Hilhorst vs. Vandana Slatter
Position 7 -- Jennifer Robertson vs. Lyndon Heywood

MBNA will be hosting these candidates at our next Candidate Forum at 7 pm on Thursday,  Oct. 15, at the Overlake Golf and Country Club.  Members of the MBNA Board will also meet with the candidates individually between now and the Forum to brief them on MBNA’s goals, positions and activities and to hear from the candidates on issues of interest to neighbors of Meydenbauer Bay.

Your call to action: We want to hear from you about your concerns so that we can make the Forum and the briefings more meaningful to area residents.   Please let us know what topics or questions you would like raised by sending a separate email to us at neighbors@mbnabellevue.com.  Please send us your questions by September 1st. 
   
Thank you for helping us Protect the Future of the Bay.