Light Rail Connection Arrives in Bellevue at a Political Inflection Point
It's been just over two weeks since Sound Transit cut the ribbon on the Crosslake Connection, finally bridging its light rail network across the I-90 floating bridge. But visiting Downtown Bellevue Station at rush hour, you'd be fooled into thinking that a direct light rail connection between Seattle and the Eastside has existed for years.
Unlike with other light rail extensions, where ridership has needed to build over time, 2 Line trains are already packed with folks taking advantage of a 25-minute trip between Bellevue City Hall and Pioneer Square, or a 13-minute trip to Microsoft's Redmond campus.
Fifteen years ago, when the Bellevue City Council was in the throes of fighting with Sound Transit over downtown routing decision and Kemper Freeman was trying to keep light rail off I-90 entirely, it was hard to imagine light rail ever arriving in Bellevue. Now, it's impossible to imagine Bellevue without it.
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Today, a majority of Bellevue's Councilmembers are first or second-generation immigrants, a fact that aligns with the fact that close to half (43.5%) of Bellevue's population is foreign born, according to U.S. Census Department data. In 1990, that number was 13%.
https://www.theurbanist.org/light-rail-connection-arrives-in-bellevue-at-a-political-inflection-point/