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

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