Also, franchise agreement, ethics, downtown building signs, light rail stations

The City Council reviewed progress on work to update Bellevue's Comprehensive Plan and provided direction for the city's most important long-range planning effort.

Also, franchise agreement, ethics, downtown building signs, light rail stations

The City Council reviewed progress on work to update Bellevue's Comprehensive Plan and provided direction for the city's most important long-range planning effort.

Construction of a new bridge on Coal Creek Parkway between Forest Drive Southeast and Southeast 60th Street began Wednesday. Closure of two lanes of the parkway around the clock, previously scheduled to begin Friday, is now expected to start early next week. In the meantime, one northbound lane is being closed intermittently. video

When the two-lane closure starts, traffic delays and congestion are expected, especially during morning and evening commutes. Drivers are encouraged to find alternate routes.

People in Bellevue can post their most essential aspirations for all to see at a "Before I Die" Wall at the corner of Bellevue Way and Main Street. Resident Patty Gordon set up the big chalkboard in April, and passersby have filled it with their ultimate to-dos several times over already.

The Before I Die Wall is featured on this month's episode of Lake to Lake, a news show about Bellevue (YouTube version, city web version and viewable on Channel 21). Other segments focus on: a new bridge being built over Coal Creek and groundbreakings for a new Belleve Youth Theatre and new visitor center at the Bellevue Botanical Garden.

A group of Sammamish High School freshman recently told the Planning Commission that the Newport Hills Shopping Center could be more successful if it drew more teenagers, because where teens go, their parents often must follow. The AP Human Geography class offered serveral urban planning ideas.

Now it's your turn. With the Bellevue's Best Ideas forum, the city is taking crowdsourcing to a new level. In the early stages of an effort to update the Bellevue's bedrock document -- the comprehensive plan -- the city is using a website that allows people to post suggestions for how they would like to see the city develop over the next 20 years.

The City of Bellevue announced today it has hired Kerry Sievers to replace retiring Human Resources Director Yvonne Tate. Sievers is the current HR director for the City of Redmond.
 
"Kerry brings to Bellevue tremendous expertise and knowledge of human resources best practices and innovations. We are thrilled to have her join our team," said Brad Miyake, current Bellevue deputy city manager and incoming acting city manager. "The city has benefited from Yvonne's leadership over the past 12 years, and we thank her for her dedication and commitment to making Bellevue one of the nation's best cities."