Bellevue used to be known as a city where most people drive to work. But that’s changed dramatically in one part of downtown Bellevue just north of Bellevue square. A Seattle Times analysis found that since 2010, the number of people who walk, bike, carpool or bus to work – has increased faster there than anywhere else in the region. We went to find our why.

Andrew Keller runs a dental office – that looks like no dentist office you’ve ever seen. It has giant glowing crystals everywhere. It looks like Superman’s fortress of solitude. "People tell me it looks like a night club. But it’s a dental office," said Keller. But you know what he likes most about his office? His commute. He lives 5 blocks away! "For the days that I don’t feel like walking I have a little Segway, so I can zip around on the sidewalks and that makes it easy, too," he said.

Credit: KUOW Photo/Joshua McNichols

Part of the reason for this shift in commuter habits – has been the big increase in density downtown. There are huge new apartment buildings everywhere you look and they’re just a block or two from downtown Bellevue’s jobs. Luke Liu runs the Ashwood Urban Market at the base of one of those towers. He said many of his customers don’t bother to drive... at all. "They tell me – they don’t need to buy a car," he said. Many people work from home, or work for Microsoft or Boeing - both companies that run commuter shuttle services to pick up employees.

Credit: KUOW Photo/Joshua McNichols

Some Bellevue residents do commute along by car, but the Seattle Times analysis by Gene Balk reveals that number has fallen significantly.