TDM Plans & Activities
Bellevue's transportation demand management (TDM) program provides information, incentives, and opportunities to sample and keep using alternative travel modes.
State-Driven Regulations and Plans
Commute Trip Reduction Law: Bellevue City Code (Chapter 14.40), in accordance with State law (RCW 70.94.521-551), requires employers with 100 or more full-time employees commuting to a worksite during peak hours (6-9 a.m.) to implement a Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) program. Through implementation of the program, employers work to achieve specified targets for reducing the number of drive-alone commute trips by their employees. The City contracts with King County Metro to perform implementation and outreach to affected employers. As of June 2010, there were 57 Bellevue worksites affected by CTR requirements.
Commute Trip Reduction Plan: In March 2006, the state legislature adopted a revised CTR law. While each employer's ongoing requirements essentially did not change, the revised law requires jurisdictions to update their CTR plans to establish new jurisdiction targets and to better integrate CTR into their comprehensive plans. The law also calls for coordinating CTR plans with regional growth management strategies. Bellevue's CTR plan (2.82 MB) was developed with close collaboration with employers and other jurisdictions, and was adopted by Council in March 2008.
Growth and Transportation Efficiency Center Plan: The revised state law also allows jurisdictions designate Growth and Transportation Efficiency Centers (GTECs) in order to customize their CTR programs in areas of concentrated employment and housing. Bellevue's adopted 2008 GTEC plan (4.99 MB), entitled "Connect Downtown," was created in collaboration with Bellevue's business community and the public. The City received a $300,000 state grant in early 2008 to implement the plan. (View the news release for this award.)
Both the CTR and GTEC plans established new 2011 trip reduction targets for employers and the City, along with providing background information and strategies for achieving the targets.
Development Regulations and Transportation Management Programs
Bellevue City Code (sections 14.60.070 and 14.60.080) requires real estate developments that meet certain size and land use thresholds to mitigate transportation impacts by implementing a Transportation Management Program (TMP). The TMP code requires that physical features be provided in the building (e.g., commuter information centers, preferential parking for vanpools and carpools) and that programmatic elements be provided to facilitate alternatives to driving alone, such as financial incentives for rideshare and transit commuters.
Downtown Initiatives
The City is working with the Bellevue Downtown Association and King County Metro to decrease drive-alone trips in Downtown Bellevue. The partner agencies work together to promote travel options in the face of a growing residential and employee population. The work is guided by the City's Downtown Growth and Transportation Efficiency Center (Connect Downtown) and Commute Trip Reduction plans.
Click the following links to learn of current downtown initiatives:
- Commute Advantage – Options for employers
- Telework Bellevue – Expert assistance to help employers establish or enhance telework programs
Long-Range Planning
The City of Bellevue has had success with Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programs over the years, with support from King County Metro and TransManage (the transportation service of the Bellevue Downtown Association). Outreach efforts have engaged numerous small and large employers in reducing their employees’ drive-alone commuting, but a long-term strategy for program services has not existed before now.
In 2010 City staff developed a draft Citywide TDM Plan, which provides a 10-year outline for the City and its partners to implement a variety of strategies in key locations, depending on available resources. The plan documents existing conditions and trends that influence the success of TDM programs, examines policy considerations, reviews input from various stakeholders, proposes 2020 non-drive-alone targets for major employment areas, and offers a range of scenarios according to constraints and opportunities.
