Eastside Transit Fantasies: Gondolas and Mosquitos

Interesting thought piece yesterday on the Seattle Transit Blog speculating about the value of a gondola connecting key destinations in Issaquah as a way to reduce street traffic. Very cool idea, particularly in light to the lack of walkable connections between the Issaquah Highlands and the commercial areas of lower Issaquah. As one commenter noted, even a single connection between Swedish Hospital and Front St would be a good start. I would also think it would be worthwhile to consider connections with Issaquah communities like Providence Point, where retirees currently rely on cars or infrequent shuttle services to access shopping areas in Issaquah (and Sammamish). Gondolas have proven to be cost efficient (one commenter estimates between $4M-$12M per mile), environmentally friendly alternatives to buses and light rail infrastructure in urban areas with steep terrain. Examples include the Portland Aerial Tram and the Medellin Metrocable in Colombia. Excited to see if this innovative concept gets any traction at the city or regional level.

Issaquah Gondola

A post the day before on the Downtown Bellevue blog discussed a new bill being considered in the Washington State Legislature that could facilitate small, fast passenger ferry service (a "Mosquito Fleet") connecting cities on the eastside of Lake Washington with Seattle destinations like the University of Washington.  Theoretically this could help ease vehicle traffic congestion on I-90 and SR-520 and create additional walkable city opportunities on both sides of the lake. Back in the day I used to joke with my wife about kayaking from my neighborhood near Lake Washington to my office at Amazon in South Lake Union... I never did do that, but I definitely would have considered hopping on a ferry in Meydenbauer Bay that would whisk me to the office in 30mins. Here's hoping that this gets some traction and that commuters get one more alternative to using their cars to cross the lake.

Bellevue Could See Expanded Water Transit Under New Legislation

Two Highly Anticipated Restaurants Axe Plans for Downtown Bellevue

Double bummer! As reported in two separate stories in the Puget Sound Business Journal this week it looks like a couple of very different, but equally significant restaurants planned for downtown Bellevue have pulled the plug on their plans. One is the fine dining Angler concept that was being developed by San Francisco Michelin Star chef Joshua Skenes, planned for the visually interesting, but commercially challenged Avenue Bellevue development on NE 8th. The other is Pinstripes, a large format activities (bowling/bocce) and pizza casual dining format that was intended for the large street level pavilion attached to the recently completed, Amazon occupied 555 Tower on 108th NE.  This is not a total surprise to downtown watchers, since there hasn't been much activity associated with the development of either project since their announcements... and the Pinstripes site has had For Lease signs up for a few weeks. 

I'm sure there are some company and site specific issues associated with each of these situations. However, in general this points to challenges that restaurants are facing across the board. On the national level increased cost of goods, expensive financing, labor shortages and the ratcheting back of corporate expense accounts have caused pain. Locally the exceptionally high cost of labor and rents just compile the pain. I'm also convinced that people are eating out less often, due to higher prices restaurants need to charge to make their businesses work and, to some extent, due to folks becoming more adept in the kitchen at home.. a trend that started with the pandemic and continues to be fueled by TikTok, YouTube, etc.

That said, I hope we see new concepts for both of these locations show up soon. The 555 Tower location particularly should become increasingly attractive as Amazon brings more workers into the office in downtown Bellevue and as the light rail deposits commuters from Seattle a block east later this year (fingers crossed) and new tenants fill the void left by Microsoft at City Center. The Avenue Bellevue space might take a bit longer, as new ownership develops a holistic strategy for the property.

Michelin-starred chef scraps plans for Avenue Bellevue restaurant (paywall)

Pinstripes space at Amazon-leased Bellevue tower goes back on the market (paywall)

Main Street Place Development To Displace Downtown Bellevue Retailers

There's a post today on the Downtown Bellevue Network site about how PetSmart is closing on Feb 2nd to make way for the Main Street Place development that was announced for the site at Main and 108th in 2021. This same development will also impact HMart, Office Depot, Blazing Bagels and the long closed Toy R Us space. What I'm interested to see is whether the four viable retailers at that location are able to find other retail space in or near downtown Bellevue. It seems to me that there is lots of unoccupied retail inventory in the lower levels the many the new developments that have come online in the last couple of years, but most of those spaces present challenges in terms of easy access parking. This is particularly true for stores like HMart and PetSmart where consumers often need a cart to car option. It'd be shame to lose these retailers in the downtown core, but also a missed opportunity to make use of existing inventory. There seems to be a misalignment in downtown Bellevue between the supply being made available in new developments to retailers/restaurants and the demand. I plan to cover this topic more comprehensively in a future post.

Downtown Bellevue PetSmart to Close February 2

News Digest 1/23/2025

Interesting post on The Interurban Canopy blog about the City of Bothell donating a large parcel of land in the heart of the active development area of downtown west of Bothell Way, between Pop Keeney Stadium and the King County Library, to Bothell United Methodist Church. The church will work with BRIDGE Housing to build “hundreds of affordable rental units” in addition to public spaces and some food/beverage retail, which will contribute to goals outlined Bothell’s new Comprehensive Plan that call for ~10K affordable housing units over the next two decades.

Bothell donates downtown vacant lot for affordable housing

An article from the Seattle Times Traffic Lab project highlights Sound Transit's CEO declaring "the existence of an Emergency" (not quite a "State of Emergency", which I presume has particular consequences) seeking urgent no bid engineering work for $1.5M to address issues causing delays in the Light Rail system. This appears to be a stopgap before an forthcoming ask for substantially more resources to address a myriad of identified issues across the system... including one with a software issue at the Spring Street station on the brand new 2 Line in Bellevue.

Light rail breakdowns lead Sound Transit to seek urgent repairs (paywall)