Bellevue ’s first city council met in 1953. From the very beginning the city leaders embraced a policy of “active but intelligent growth.” In fact, before Bellevue was incorporated as a city developers had grand ideas for the community. For example, James Ditty, who is often thought of as Bellevue ’s first developer drew up plans of what he thought Bellevue would look like in the future. It included skyscrapers, hotels and several bridges to cross Lake Washington . He planned some streets to have as many as six lanes, anticipating that some day Bellevue would be home to more than 200,000 people.

The 1950’s and 60’s provided a perfect atmosphere for growth. Post war America placed emphasis on homeownership creating mass produced homes and suburbs. Bellevue was no exception. It acted as the perfect suburb to the Seattle area. People could work in the city and own homes in Bellevue , maintaining the rural life style. Real estate investors bought up acres of land surrounding the downtown area in order to build planned communities modeled after Levittown , New York . These communities were planned to have their own infrastructure, shopping centers and parks. With the addition of the second Lake Washington Bridge in 1963 the commute to and from Seattle was made very convenient. Today Bellevue attracts new residents because it is known for its good schools, abundance of parks and housing opportunities with a short commute to work.

There has always been a plan for Bellevue but there has also always been tension over what kind of city Bellevue should be. In 1974 the city debated a new comprehensive plan that would its evolution from semi-rural to suburban. A scheme was devised to step down densities fro the downtown core to its fringes. This was guided by the Downtown Development Board (BDDB, later Bellevue Downtown Association). The BDDB and the city worked together to develop a new comprehensive plan to preserve the character of Bellevue ’s neighborhoods. There mission was to “plan and promote development to achieve a quality environment for people living and working in Bellevue . Early on the City Council had a firm grasp on many issues involved in running a city. Bellevue had to face the challenges of schools, traffic, water supplies, sewage systems, police protection, zoning, urban planning and park development.

With the unprecedented growth that Bellevue has experienced in the past few decades also comes challenges that the city must overcome. Bellevue is a major trading center which is well linked to established transportation corridors. Two busy interstate highways converge at Bellevue : I-90 links the city to the east-west interstate system and I-405 connects Bellevue with the north-south interstate system. While it seems that this would make downtown Bellevue easily accessible, this is not that case. Both floating bridges are often stopped bumper to bumper. Even though Bellevue is just across the water from Seattle , at times this short trip can take forever!

In an effort to address this problem city planners have created a program called “Access Downtown.” Access Downtown is an alliance between Sound Transit, the City of Bellevue , Washington State Department of Transportation, King county Metro and the Federal Highway Administration. Over the next three to four years, Access Downtown will complete local street improvements in and around downtown Bellevue . There will also be specific freeway enhancements at key interchanges.