‘Tis the Magic Season to be jolly! We hope that many of you will come to downtown Bellevue to enjoy ice skating, the festivities, lights, dining and shopping. The warm, fuzzy holiday feeling is in the air, but it’s still chilly outside making road conditions slick and icy. Pedestrian safety is also a priority this season with the increase of foot traffic due to holiday shopping.
To ensure you have a safe and fun holiday in downtown Bellevue, we would like to share a few transportation tips! Do you have a few tips of your own for getting around for shopping and events, or a holiday commuting story you’d like to share? Did anyone wear their festive holiday sweater on the bus? Does your family have a favorite place you like to go to celebrate the holidays? How do you get there? Share your story to enter to win a free skate pass to the Chaplin’s Bellevue Subaru Ice Arena! You can post a comment below, post it on our Facebook wall or send stories to DBOnTheMove@cywb.org. We’ll be drawing 10 winners on Dec. 31. Winners will be notified by Jan. 2.
Choose Your Way Bellevue and Downtown Bellevue On The Move will be at the Chaplin’s Bellevue Ice Arena brought to you by Bank of America from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 23. Visit us to enter for a chance to win $100 in Commuter Plus Bonus Vouchers, vouchers that can be used at a number of commute-related businesses such as Brown Bear Car Wash, REI, Union 76 Gas (at participating locations), and more. Three lucky commuters will receive a $10 Starbucks gift card to keep them warm or hydrated, and there will be commuter swag giveaways that are essential when you’re on the go: tote bags, lanyards and bookmarks.
If you or someone you know is trying the bus for the first time, visit us at the event to receive a free ORCA card with $6 in e-purse fare loaded on it (certain restrictions apply)!
Magic Season Commuting and Transportation Tips:
RIDE TRANSIT: More than 20 Metro and Sound Transit bus routes come through the Bellevue Transit Center in the heart of downtown. Park your car at one of the nearby park-and-ride lots, such as the South Bellevue, Eastgate, or South Kirkland Park and Ride and take a bus the rest of the way downtown for shopping and attending downtown events. Visit the online trip planners at King County Metro or Sound Transit to plan your route.
TRY THE B-LINE: Metro’s RapidRide B Line route begins at the Redmond Transit Center and ends in downtown Bellevue with stops through Overlake, Crossroads and all along NE 8th Street.
TRAVEL WITH FRIENDS: Carpooling is a great way to shave time off your trip downtown. Be sure to use the direct access ramp at NE 6th Street off of I-405, as well as the HOV lanes on I-405, I-90 and parts of SR-520.
AVOID CONGESTION: Heading to the Bellevue Collection? Save time and skip the NE 8th Street exit off of I-405. Use NE 4th Street instead. Or make a jog to NE 2nd or NE 10th to avoid backups.
PARK NEAR THE PARK: Free on-street parking is available for up to 2 hours on and around Main Street in Old Bellevue. You’ll be just steps from your favorite Old Bellevue restaurants, boutiques and ice skating!
SAFETY FIRST: With even more people out and about, please use caution when making turns, and look out for pedestrians.
Download these mobile apps to help you get around in real-time.
- ONE BUS AWAY: Taking the bus to complete holiday shopping? Download the OneBusAway app for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone and have real-time bus arrival times at your fingertips. onebusaway.org.
- INRIX TRAFFIC OR WSDOT: Both apps will keep you in the know on real-time traffic and travel information. Save time by avoiding the backups! inrixtraffic.com and wsdot.gov