ISSUES - NEIGHBORHOODS
Bellevue is comprised of many different neighborhoods that are healthy and strong. Our neighborhoods, our schools, and our job base are reasons people move to Bellevue and stay. Protecting the integrity of our neighborhoods is vital to the City's continued success.
Funding City Investments in Neighborhoods
Jennifer was instrumental in securing city funding for many important neighborhood projects, including restoration of the popular Neighborhood Enhancement Program which was cut during the recession; funding for the design and construction of the Newport Way sidewalk project, funding for the long-awaited Phase I of the West Lake Sammamish Parkway project; funding the sidewalk/bicycle lane project on 108th so that children have a safe walk route to Enatai Elementary; funding the final segment of the 145th sidewalk/bicycle project near Bellevue College; funding the "fix" of the 120th and NE 8th intersection to straighten that intersection and make the NE 4th extension and 120th expansion more functional while avoiding traffic diversion into the Wilburton neighborhood and funding for traffic calming programs. Her leadership on these issues is making Bellevue neighborhoods stronger.
She is also helping lay the groundwork for keeping neighborhoods strong and stable into the future by creating a Neighborhoods Element in the newly updated Comprehensive Plan, adopting codes to keep multi-family uses in multi-family zones and increasing public safety services to respond to growth and maintain our safe community.
Concentrating Growth in the Downtown and Bel-Red
Bellevue is required to plan for population growth by identifying the locations where growth can occur. Jennifer will keep growth and added density where it belongs: Downtown and in the Bel-Red corridor. This keeps the added density away from single family neighborhoods thus securing neighborhood stability as the city grows.
Increasing Public Safety & Emergency Services to Protect our Citizens
Bellevue has excellent Fire and Police service. We must keep it that way. Public Safety is one of the most important obligations of local government. Jennifer recognizes this and has been an advocate for maintaining our high level of service for public safety which is why she's been endorsed by the Bellevue Fire Fighters. She successfully worked to restore fire/paramedic cuts made during the recession and added new detectives to keep our growing community safe. She is also helping Bellevue plan for the future by setting money aside for a Downtown Fire Station and funding needed renovations of the public safety training center and our oldest fire stations. The future Downtown Station will not only protect Downtown and Bel-Red, but will also protect the surrounding neighborhoods that are left vulnerable when police and fire resources that would otherwise be dedicated to those neighborhoods are busy servicing Downtown and Bel-Red.
