Archive for the ‘Carpool’ Category

Bellevue Magic Season and other holiday events are now in full swing. This season, enjoy all the holiday fun without the hassle of sitting in traffic or searching for parking. Take one of 24 Metro and Sound Transit bus routes that pass through the Bellevue Transit Center from locations near and far—Redmond, Everett, Issaquah and Kirkland just to name a few. Most Bellevue Magic Season venues are accessible by bus and a walk of 0.3 miles or less, so get on board and let getting here be part of the adventure. Plan your own excursion using ChooseYourWayBellevue.org or the regional trip planner at http://transit.metrokc.gov.

Also follow these easy travel tips to spend more time enjoying the holiday sights, sounds and celebrations in Downtown Bellevue.

TRY THE NE 4TH STREET EXIT: Driving to the Bellevue Collection? You may save time by skipping NE 8th Street. NE 2nd and NE 10th will help you bypass backups as well. And, if you’re coming from the east side of Bellevue, try the new NE 10th Street overpass bridge.

RIGHT TURN STRATEGY: If The Bravern is your destination, make a right turn into garage entrances on 110th Avenue NE, NE 8th Street or 112th Avenue NE. If you’re traveling west on NE 8th, you can legally make a U-turn at the 110th Avenue NE intersection to get going in the “right” direction.

2+ PEOPLE: Arriving with friends or family in your car? Take advantage of the direct access ramp at NE 6th Street, as well as HOV lanes on I-405, I-90 and parts of SR-520.

ON-STREET PARKING: Park steps from the doors of your favorite shops in Old Bellevue for up to two hours.

WATCH FOR PEDESTRIANS: With so much going on downtown, even more people will be out and about on foot. Please use caution when making turns.

TRANSIT:Try the bus. Metro and Sound Transit provide many routes to the Downtown Bellevue Transit Center. Route and schedule information is available at metro.kingcounty.gov and soundtransit.org.

Have a holiday travel idea to share with other Choose Your Way Bellevue readers? Click on the “Add a Comment” link below this post to share your tip!

-Jordan

Climate change. Everyone’s talking about it. But what are we doing about? An article from The Christian Science Monitor about this topic recently caught our eye. It states that “discussion of climate change has been high on domestic and international agendas, but the sad truth is that little has been done to fight it”. So how do we kick our butts in gear to reduce our country’s carbon footprint? Is a recession the only proven condition to get people off the road, subsequently cutting emissions? According to the article’s author, Robert Dujarric, the climate debate must be refocused. The environmental arguments empower some to make change, but not the masses. Instead, Dujarric says to appeal to patriotism. What? American patriotism = lower carbon emissions? Here’s his argument:

Given the location of the world’s petroleum reserves, when Americans pull out their credit cards at the gas pump, they indirectly fund the economies of countries like Iran, Venezuela, Libya, Sudan, and not to mention Al Qaeda (whose financial backers include many who are in the fossil fuels business). Even if the oil sold in the US comes from Alaska, Texas or allies like Norway, American demand drives up the price of the commodity, thereby pumping huge flows of dollars into the treasuries of its enemies. If Americans start thinking about their dependence on oil as equivalent to providing assistance to our enemies, more citizens would be open to looking for and practicing alternatives.

Dujarric doesn’t believe we should throw out the environmental arguments altogether. He instead believes supporting them with a new patriotic message might do the trick to cutting down our oil consumption. What motivates and inspires you to decrease your carbon footprint? Is it saving endangered species and improving air quality or is it protecting US borders? Let us know your thoughts about the climate change debate by submitting a comment below. Also, be sure to calculate your own carbon footprint on our carbon emissions calculator. You may be surprised at what you find!

-Jordan

Fall Wheel Options is back! Join thousands of others across the state who choose not to drive alone to work at least twice during Wheel Options, October 18-31. Log your commutes at www.WheelOptions.org and you could win the trip to Italy with a Rick Steves Best of Rome 7 Day Tour! Eligible wheel options include carpooling and vanpooling, riding the bus or train, bicycling or walking to work, working from home or simply not commuting because of your compressed work week schedule. There are many fantastic prizes, including weekend getaways and your favorite merchant gift cards. All participants will receive a two-for-one coupon courtesy of Amtrak Cascades. What have you got to lose?

-Melissa