Across Lake Washington from Seattle, while the Eastside newspaper, Journal American, extols the virtues of Bellevue City Hall, Bellevue’s bureaucrats quietly endanger our children’s lives.
by Rod Van Mechelen
This bustling bedroom community, sandwiched between Lake Washington on the west and Lake Samammish and Microsoft corporate campus on the east, is home to some of the Seattle area’s wealthiest residents. New money Lexus drivers jockey for space on Bellevue’s crowded streets with aging yupsters in their minivans and middle-class wannabes in their fragile 5 year auto loans.
Not the sort of place you would associate with unsafe sidewalks.
May 9, 1996, while riding down 140th NE -- one of Bellevue’s busiest arterials -- I noticed the easement (what passes for a combination sidewalk/bicycle lane) on my side of the street was blocked by construction signs. This had been going on for a few weeks, but what made this time different was that they were across the street from Samammish High School. Anyplace else, they’re a hazard mostly to adults. That’s bad enough. In front of a school is even worse.
I stopped and moved each of them a few inches -- just enough so pedestrians could
get by without stepping out into traffic. "Civilians" aren’t supposed to do that, the
roadcrew foreman told me a few minutes later, but I’m not just a civilian: from
1951 to 1966, my paternal grandfather, Maurice (Shorty) Van Mechelen, was
State Highway Safety Engineer. He wrote the book on this stuff, and were he
alive today he would have had the job of whoever was responsible.
When I called Bellevue City Hall to ask them to rectify this situation, the administrator referred me to the City Official in charge, who accused me of "vigilantism." He was not, shall we say, open to my suggestion that the threat to the safety of the high school students warranted immediate action. "You have to go through channels," he said.
Channels. Right. Maybe some kid dies, but that’s okay as long as we go through the proper channels.
When I assured him I wouldn’t mess with their signs anymore, but that I would be out there taking pictures, he lost his temper. "I see you, I’ll have you arrested," he snapped.
In all fairness, I’m sure he was just having a tough day, and really didn’t mean it, because I’ve taken dozens of pictures of Bellevue Road Crew violations since then, and although officials scowl at me as they drive by, I have yet to be arrested.
Nevertheless, the arrogance behind his attitude is cause for concern -- despite that I clearly explained my intention to publish these pictures on this website, the violations not only continued, but got worse.
In the picture below, taken a few days later out in front of the high school, you can see the area before construction really got under way.
Both sides are still open, but that didn't last for long. (Photo taken shortly before the lunch hour, when day-time traffic volumes are lowest.)
A few days later, it was a different story -- both "easements" and one lane were closed. All traffic -- cars, trucks, buses, bicycles and pedestrians -- were being diverted into a single lane.
All the more reason to take all legal and appropriate precautions.
However, the official did admit they should have "Sidewalk Closed" signs up. Here’s what they did:
They closed the sidewalk right where a survey crew was working. Across the
street, heavy equipment completely blocked the easement (no sidewalk there).
There’s only one word to describe their attitude: arrogant.
As long as this attitude persists, I’ll feature a new series of pictures every month.
(And I already have 22 more all ready to scan.)
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