During its extended study session on Feb. 26, the Bellevue City Council reviewed progress on the Neighborhood Safety, Connectivity and Congestion Levy, approved by Bellevue voters in November 2016.

While 2017 was mostly spent in design mode, 2018 will bring a flurry of construction with approximately 24 projects from the 2017-2018 levy list slated for completion. Work on the 2019-2020 project list has already begun and will be shared with the Transportation Commission and council this summer. Projects are selected based on public input, geographical distribution, speed of implementation and other factors.

Levy funding supplements existing transportation programs with the following annual allocations:

Neighborhood safety ($2.25 million);

Neighborhood congestion reduction ($2 million);

New sidewalks, trails and paths ($1.12 million);

Bicycle facilities ($900,000);

Safety and traffic management technology ($500,000); and

Sidewalk and trail maintenance ($500,000).

Except for the Neighborhood Congestion Reduction program, levy projects originate from established programs and address a backlog of work that would take significantly longer to complete without the additional funding.

The Neighborhood Congestion Reduction program was created by the council and is the one project category with dedicated levy funding. It uses special criteria to prioritize projects based on the need for and benefits derived from the improvements. Currently, nine congestion reduction projects are being analyzed, three are being designed and two could begin construction later this year.