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    Aerial of view of downtown Bellevue, with construction cranes

    The city's Comprehensive Plan was amended in December 2021 to support a multimodal approach to transportation concurrency. According to the state Growth Management Act, when there is a development, transportation improvements or strategies must be made concurrently (at the same time) to accommodate its impacts. 

    Multimodal concurrency takes into account a variety of transportation modes, such as transit, bicycling and walking, in addition to driving. Bellevue’s previous concurrency standard, since the early 1990s, only considered vehicle capacity at specific intersections. 

    Multimodal Concurrency Code

    The new system in the Multimodal Concurrency Code (BCC 14.10) considers multiple modes of transportation by using the supply and demand of Mobility Units to determine if concurrency requirements are met.  More information on Mobility Units and how to apply the new code to development can be found in the Multimodal Concurrency Implementation Guide.

    Background

    On April 18, 2022, the City Council adopted the Mobility Implementation Plan, which establishes a framework for multimodal concurrency. The final phase of this process was to amend the Bellevue City Code, consistent with the 2021 amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and the new mobility plan.

    On July 5, 2022, the City Council adopted the Multimodal Concurrency Code, BCC 14.10, which defines concurrency requirements for the multimodal environment. The new system uses the supply and demand of Mobility Units to determine if concurrency requirements are met.

    Following the adoption, Transportation staff prepared an implementation guide to define specific program requirements to use when reviewing projects for concurrency. The guide explains how projects are evaluated, how Mobility Units are determined for each mode of travel and defines how the supply of and demand for Mobility Units will be determined. The guide also explains how the program will be updated and maintained in the future. A hearing was held at the Transportation Commission’s Sept. 8 meeting. After this hearing, the guide was approved by the Transportation Director, followed by a 30-day transition period prior to the full implementation of the Multimodal Concurrency program. The full implementation of the new program occurred on Oct. 17, 2022.

    Background material