Great Neighborhoods - Crossroads

Photo of entrance to Crossroads Mall with sign and landscaping

Welcome to Bellevue's Great Neighborhoods Program

Bellevue is known for its diverse, vibrant, and welcoming neighborhoods. The high quality of life that residents enjoy is no accident - it’s the result of thoughtful and collaborative planning with the people who live, work, and play here.

The Great Neighborhoods program is the process for developing neighborhood area plans that reflect the community’s values and vision for the future. Neighborhood area plans inform future growth and change by providing guidance to city staff and developers about the kinds of improvements people want to see.

Neighborhood area plans are part of the city’s overall Comprehensive Plan, which outlines citywide policies on issues like housing, transportation, parks, environmental sustainability, and more. Neighborhood area plans are important tools for addressing the changing needs and conditions at the local level.

The neighborhood area planning process will develop policies and direction for:

Neighborhood Identity: Define the unique aspects of each neighborhood and develop strategies to highlight them.

Enhanced Community Gathering Spaces: Define and strengthen community hubs and “third places” that foster social interaction and connectivity.

Urban Design Framework: Establish guidelines to support neighborhood design, focusing on opportunities to activate spaces and improve the look and feel of public spaces.

Neighborhood Connectivity: Make it safe and convenient for people to get around their neighborhood, connect to transit and use other modes of transportation.

Public Realm Improvements: Identify needs and priorities for future improvements, such as streets and trails, through community engagement.

This is our online engagement hub. Here you can find opportunities to share stories, ideas, and feedback. You can also download documents, presentations, and other key information. Right now we invite you to provide feedback on the draft policies for the Crossroads neighborhood area plan. See below for more info.

Welcome to Bellevue's Great Neighborhoods Program

The neighborhood area planning process will develop policies and direction for:

Neighborhood Identity: Define the unique aspects of each neighborhood and develop strategies to highlight them.

Enhanced Community Gathering Spaces: Define and strengthen community hubs and “third places” that foster social interaction and connectivity.

Urban Design Framework: Establish guidelines to support neighborhood design, focusing on opportunities to activate spaces and improve the look and feel of public spaces.

Neighborhood Connectivity: Make it safe and convenient for people to get around their neighborhood, connect to transit and use other modes of transportation.

Public Realm Improvements: Identify needs and priorities for future improvements, such as streets and trails, through community engagement.

Draft Policies

Since launching in the fall of 2024 the Great Neighborhoods planning team has heard from hundreds of community members about what makes Crossroads unique and how the city can strengthen and improve public spaces, mobility, and opportunities to gather. This feedback has been used to develop a set of draft policies that will be used to guide future changes and development over the next 10 years.

Now we want to hear from you! Before we bring the draft neighborhood plan to Planning Commission we want your feedback. We invite you to do the following.

Read over the draft policies.
Consider the following:
- Imagine five to ten years in the future. If these policies are implemented what changes would you see in the Crossroads area?
- Are there other issues that you think are missing that should be addressed in the neighborhood area plan?

As you review the draft policies keep in mind that neighborhood plans are focused on the long-term future. That means that the policies must be flexible enough to last and respond to future changes, innovations, and community needs.

To learn more about how policy is used, watch this short introductory video.