Bellevue residents who walk, bike or roll along Northup Way have one more shot to tell the city exactly where the street fails them.
The City of Bellevue Transportation Department is hosting its final community walking audit of 2026 on Saturday, Aug. 22, from 10 a.m. to noon. Participants will walk the stretch of Northup Way between 124th Avenue NE and 140th Avenue NE alongside city transportation staff, pointing out trouble spots for pedestrians, cyclists and people using wheelchairs or other mobility devices.
The department announced the event on X on Monday, Aug. 17, calling it the "last chance" to join the audit series.
Why this corridor matters
Northup Way is part of Bellevue's High Injury Network, the set of streets where most of the city's fatal and serious-injury collisions happen. The walking audit falls under the city's 2026 Road Safety Assessments program, which feeds directly into Vision Zero, Bellevue's commitment to eliminate traffic deaths by 2030.
The numbers behind that goal are stark. Between 2015 and 2024, 232 people were seriously injured and 22 were killed in traffic collisions on Bellevue streets, according to the city's Vision Zero data. That works out to roughly one person killed or seriously injured every 14 days over the decade. Pedestrians and cyclists are classified as vulnerable road users under state law and face disproportionately higher risk of fatal or serious-injury crashes compared to people in cars.
Three study areas this year
The 2026 RSA program is evaluating three corridors across the city. Northup Way, designated Study Area 5, is the broadest: the full assessment zone extends along Northup Way/NE 20th Street from 124th Avenue NE to 140th Avenue NE, plus segments of 140th Avenue NE between SR-520 and Bel-Red Road and 148th Avenue NE between SR-520 and NE 20th Street.
The other two study areas cover NE 8th Street and NE 12th Street corridors. The city evaluated two study areas in 2025.
As we reported July 29, the Transportation Department also launched an online Road Safety Assessment survey targeting BelRed and Wilburton's High Injury Network streets. That survey, hosted at engagingbellevue.com/2026-rsa, had drawn 76 responses as of Aug. 18 and remains open until Sept. 30.
How to join
The walking audit runs Saturday, Aug. 22, from 10 a.m. to noon along Northup Way between 124th Avenue NE and 140th Avenue NE. Registration is available through the link in the @BvueTrans post or at engagingbellevue.com/2026-rsa. A specific gathering point has not been announced; participants should check the registration page for meeting details closer to Saturday.
