The Washington State Department of Transportation has some information regarding the ‘Top Five Things To Know About 520 Tolls’. WSDOT is recommending that drivers open a Good To Go! account now to avoid the last minute rush before tolling starts. A Good to Go! Sticker Pass will ensure that you always pay the lowest toll rate.

You can purchase the Good To Go! Sticker Pass in downtown Bellevue at Safeway & QFC and other locations in the region (Costco, Safeway, Fred Meyer and QFC stores). You can buy any of the five Good To Go! Pass options online, in-person at a customer service center or mobile location, or by calling 1-866-936-8246. If you choose to order your pass online, allow plenty of time for delivery before tolling starts.

Here Are the ‘Top Five Things to Know About SR 520 Tolls’:

1. A Good To Go! Pass is the cheapest, easiest way to pay the toll. If you travel the SR 520 Bridge at least once a month, you should consider opening a Good To Go! account. You’ll save $1.50 in tolls each time you cross the bridge with a Good To Go! Pass.
2. Toll rates vary by time of day. Toll rates are most expensive during peak travel times and cheaper during off-peak periods. Here’s the SR 520 toll rate schedule.
3. There will be no toll booths. All tolls will be collected electronically. With a pre-paid Good To Go! account, tolls are automatically deducted without stopping or slowing down.
4. There’s more bus service. To give drivers an alternative to paying the toll, King County Metro and Sound Transit have added 130 daily bus trips to routes on SR 520 for a total of 700 every weekday.
5. Tolling helps pay for a new SR 520 Bridge. The revenue generated from toll helps build a new, more reliable and safer bridge. The target date for opening the new bridge is 2014.

Downtown Bellevue Go To Go Pass locations:

QFC
10116 NE 8th Street
Bellevue, WA 98004

Safeway
300 Bellevue Way NE
Bellevue, WA 98004

Your opinion counts. We would like to know how SR 520 tolling will impact your commute to and from Bellevue. Your thoughts and concerns are welcome here.

City Hall
4 total charging stations have been added to Bellevue City Hall, 2 in the visitor and 2 in the employee lots.

Bellevue Downtown Park
2 charging stations have been added to the Bellevue Downtown Park’s parking lot.

November 2010 marked the 1st implementation of electric vehicle charging stations in Bellevue.  The City of Bellevue does not currently charge for any of their existing or new charging stations, but it’s likely that they will implement a fee of $2 – $4 per charge next spring.

Input from these walking tour sessions is vital and will inform the Downtown Transportation Plan Update. This plan strategizes ways to accommodate additional transportation needs in Downtown Bellevue over the next 20 years.

The walks on each day will be 90 minutes. Each walk will start with a presentation by Feet First, a walking advocacy group. This group will help to communicate the purpose of the walks and how ideas can be contributed.

On Thursday the walking tour will start at 11:45 AM at Key Center Tower (NE 6th St & 108th Ave NE). This session will focus on various locations for lunch, shopping, transit, and errands.

On Saturday the tour will begin at 9:00 AM at Top Pot Doughnuts at Washington Square (10600 NE 9th PL). This session will be more focused on residents that live in Downtown Bellevue.

The walks will happen rain or shine, so make sure to bring your rain gear just in case. (Currently the weather looks clear of rain for both days!)

It must be closing in on Christmas because several stores have been opening in Bellevue Square as of late. Saturday was no different, as Tesla Motors opened their Bellevue Square store. Now, in addition to shopping, dining, and entertainment, you can purchase electric cars at the Bellevue Collection.

The Tesla store is very different from your traditional car dealership. The store is owned by Tesla Motors, instead of the common franchise business model. Also, don’t expect to see hundreds of Tesla cars in the parking lot. There is just one car in the showroom, or ‘store,’ and one car to test drive in the parking lot. Placing orders for one of the cars at the store can be taken care of as well.

The cars and showroom are full of technology. There are 4 touch-screen monitors that can help to everything from order a car to teach you about the different car models. The store has many similarities to the Apple Store, which is likely due to the store’s experience being designed by ex-Apple employees.

For their grand opening this past Saturday and Sunday, the store had the a beta of the Model S on display, which is Tesla’s new car that is scheduled to come out in Summer of 2012.

The Model S seats 5, and in addition, has room for 2 children in the back. The car can get up to 300 miles on one charge, but this isn’t your typical electric car. Once you get inside you’ll see a 17-inch touch screen that comes equipped with wireless connectivity that allows you to browse the web, use turn-by-turn navigation, and several other fun applications. In fact, the navigation system will be able to utilize applications that 3rd party developers create, making the opportunities endless.

The Bellevue Square Tesla store represents Tesla’s 15th store they have opened in North America. It is located on the 2nd floor, next to Clarks.

233 Bellevue Square
Bellevue WA 98004

[View with PicLens]

Driving to games can always be challenging, time consuming, and expensive. We suggest, for the most hassle-free experience from Downtown Bellevue, that you take the bus.

The Metro Bus 271 comes every 30 minutes (during most hours of the day) and goes conveniently through the Bellevue Transit Center; it then makes its way onto NE 8th Street, where it makes a few stops before going through Medina to get onto the 520 Bridge. Check the 271 Metro schedule for specific pick-up times at each location. Also, budget enough time in the off chance that the bus is full and you have to wait for a 2nd bus.

One of the biggest perks of riding the bus on game day is that if you flash your game ticket, you ride Metro buses for free!

The City of Bellevue and Sound Transit are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, as the Sound Transit Board of Directors made the decision yesterday in favor of a tunnel for light rail in Downtown Bellevue. The City of Bellevue Council-members have long supported the tunnel option because it minimizes street congestion and maximizes routing efficiency. This decision is a sign of progress and hopefully a foreshadowing of cooperation between the City and Sound Transit on other outstanding items, like the alignment of certain routes.

In fact, you may have seen it. The vehicle has already logged more than 100 miles.

The T3 Motion Law Enforcement vehicle is a no emissions, 100 percent electric vehicle that specializes in community policing and urban enforcement, according to a press statement.

The T3 has a zero degree turning radius, travels up to 18 mph, and runs for a 10-hour shift or longer before re-charging the battery. The 3-wheel vehicle carries red and blue police lights and a siren. It can ride on the road and sidewalks.

The vehicle was purchased for $13,166 with funds donated from the Bellevue Police Foundation.

Bellevue’s taking the lead in the push towards making its city more ecologically conscious. The Bellevue Collection is the first major retail center in the area to install ChargePoint electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in fifteen locations throughout Bellevue Square, Lincoln Square and Bellevue Place.

It’s a concerted effort to “go green,” with The Bellevue Collection working with ChargePoint’s parent company, Coulomb and their ChargePoint America program, which is setting up 4600 stations in nine regions across the country. This national program seeks to prepare businesses and communities to be EV-ready.

Fifteen ChargePoint stations are located throughout The Bellevue Collection: 5 ports in the Bellevue Square West Garage on the 2nd level near the Sky Bridge, 4 ports in the Bellevue Square Northeast Garage on the 1st floor near Nordstrom, 4 in the Lincoln Square Garage on the first level (P1), and 2 ports in the Bellevue Place Garage on the first level (P1).

The ChargePoint stations are fully networked and available to all drivers with plug-in vehicles. A 24/7 support number is listed at all stations for any questions and there are smart phone applications available for operation instructions, as well as the ability to locate unoccupied stations.

The City of Bellevue will host a discussion about its proposed alternative route for Sound Transit’s East Link light rail, from 5-7pm, on Tuesday, January 25, at City Hall, 450 110th Avenue NE, room 1E-108.

The proposed route is a variation of a route studied by Sound Transit. The City Council has requested staff to compare the routes to determine if design changes can reduce impacts and costs, as well as improve performance, according to a press release.

The original proposed route would run along the BNSF rail corridor through south Bellevue, while Sound Transit’s preferred route runs along Bellevue Way and 112th Avenue.

Sound Transit’s board of directors is expected to make a final decision on the location of the East Link routes this year.

The event, which included speakers at Bellevue’s City Hall parking lot. During the celebration, a Toytota Prius was be used to show how the charging stations work.

Speakers included Bellevue Mayor Don Davidson, ChargePoint America Director Michael Jones, Puget Sound Energy VP of Corporate Affairs Andy Wappler, and Kember Development Company’s Glann Bachman.

With American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding, Campbell, California-based Coulomb Technologies will install 4,600 public and home “ChargePoint America” charging stations in nine regions, including the Bellevue/Redmond area, around the country.

Coulomb is working with Ford, Chevrolet and SmartUSA who, along with other manufacturers, have announced plans to introduce mass-produced electric vehicles in the next two years. The City Hall charging stations were provided to the city free as a part of the ChargePoint America program, in collaboration with Coulomb’s Pacific Northwest distributor, ChargeNorthwest.

The 240-volt charging stations being installed at City Hall, intended primarily for use by visitors who have business with the city, will charge an average automobile electric battery in four to six hours. Most people would likely use them to “top off” during visits to City Hall. ChargePoint stations are networked so users can check the charging status of their car and locations of unoccupied charging stations by using a smart phone.