In 2018, The Stranger asked me point-blank: would light rail turn Bellevue into the next Williamsburg, a “bastion of weirdos and warehouse parties?” I said no. Eight years later, I was sort of right and sort of wrong. 

I have spent my entire political career fighting to bring light rail to the Eastside. When I started that fight many years ago as a Bellevue City Councilmember, I took it up because I truly believed that it would improve the lives of my constituents. That means commuters, of course. But I also imagined nurses getting to rest their feet on a quick and easy train ride home after work, people with disabilities having a whole new way to get around, and tech workers opting to get out of their cars and onto the train.

Those dreams are about to be realized when the light rail across the I-90 bridge finally opens this Saturday, March 28. But dreams that I could not have imagined at the outset of my light rail crusade are also going to be realized.

Light rail enabled us to envision, plan, and build an entirely new neighborhood in Bellevue, the Spring District, which includes affordable housing and community spaces right next to a light rail station. Through partnerships with Amazon, King County, the City of Bellevue, and BRIDGE Housing, Sound Transit created 234 apartments for low-and-middle-income residents. Unfortunately for that hopeful Stranger journalist, we had to remove several warehouses to do that, and had fewer locations for those Williamsburg-style warehouse parties. 

But culture is alive in Bellevue. Light rail now links the entire region to the BelRed Arts District, which has the highest concentration of arts and cultural businesses, organizations, and artists east of Lake Washington. It will bring people from across our county to enjoy and support our local art scene.

And it’s not just good for people. Light rail will allow dogs from all over the area to experience the joys of the Marymoor Dog Park, sometimes referred to as “Doggie Disneyland.” And don’t worry, I’m working with Sound Transit on a dogs-on-trains policy that will keep everyone involved safe and happy.

I still don’t think Bellevue is going to be the next Brooklyn. I think it’s going to be something new. It’s going to be the next Bellevue. Come and see for yourself—we’re just a train ride away!

Claudia Balducci is a King County Councilmember representing the Eastside and a Sound Transit Board member who has spent the last 20 years championing light rail on the Eastside.