Published August 20 2026
New signs going up as soon as Aug. 24
The City of Bellevue is lowering the speed limit on local streets from 25 mph to 20 mph, effective immediately upon new sign installation, expected to start Monday, Aug. 24. There is no warning period for this change.
Speeding on local streets is the top concern heard from residents regarding traffic safety in Bellevue. And speeding continues to remain a top contributing factor to fatal and serious-injury collisions in Bellevue as well.
Local streets, also called neighborhood streets, make up 64% of the streets in Bellevue (map) and are primarily designed to provide access within neighborhoods and carry local traffic to collector arterials. In total, 360 20-mph signs will be installed, along with 190 pavement markings.
Approximately 325 signs will replace existing signs and 35 new sign locations will be added. Neighborhoods in north Bellevue (Lake Hills, Northeast Bellevue, Crossroads, Wilburton, Bridle Trails and Northwest Bellevue) will be the first to get the new signs, with the remaining neighborhoods planned for later this year.
To respond to community concerns about speeding and crash data, Bellevue uses a variety of different tools, such as speed humps, radar feedback signs, speed safety cameras and traffic circles, to bring down vehicle speeds. Staff also frequently investigate new and emerging tools to help with traffic calming.
Lowering speed limits has been shown to:
- Create safer routes to school for children in Bellevue neighborhoods.
- Create a more comfortable environment for all people walking and rolling
- Create a predictable speed limit in neighborhoods.
- Support the city’s Vision Zero effort to eliminate serious injury and fatal collisions on city streets by 2030.
The lower speed limit has been tested in three neighborhoods in Bellevue (Surrey Downs, East Bellevue Greenway and parts of Eastgate around Tyee Middle School). In each neighborhood the speed limit change reduced high-end speeding (vehicles going faster than 30 mph). Eastgate, the largest 20 mph zone to date, experienced a 19% reduction in high-end speeding without additional enforcement by police.
After hearing community feedback about lowering the local street speed limit, the City Council passed an ordinance in October 2024 to lower the speed limit on local roads to 20 mph. The estimated cost of the project is approximately $700,000. Funding comes from the Neighborhood Safety, Connectivity and Congestion Levy.
For more details, please visit Local Street Speed Limit Reduction.