Who is Andrew Singelakis professionally
Andrew Singelakis is a certified urban planner who serves as the Transportation Director for the City of Bellevue, Washington. He has held this role since June 2019, overseeing the city's transit infrastructure, capital improvement plans, and mobility strategies. With over 30 years of experience in public administration, municipal planning, and transportation engineering, Singelakis has managed urban growth and transit portfolios across multiple regions of the United States.
Professional Overview
xml
<EntityOverview type="Default" detailedName="Andrew Singelakis" title="Andrew Singelakis">
<Table>
<Row>
<Cell>**Current Role**</Cell>
<Cell>Transportation Director, [City of Bellevue](entity://GEOPOLITICAL/Bellevue)</Cell>
</Row>
<Row>
<Cell>**Experience**</Cell>
<Cell>30+ Years in Urban Planning & Transit</Cell>
</Row>
<Row>
<Cell>**Education**</Cell>
<Cell>MS in Urban Planning, Master of Public Health ([Columbia University](entity://SpecificPerson/Columbia_University))</Cell>
</Row>
</Table>
</EntityOverview>
Use code with caution.
Career History
Singelakis has spent his career navigating municipal and regional transit networks:
• City of Bellevue, WA (2019–Present): Manages the city's transportation department. Recent policy discussions under his leadership have focused on balancing vehicle mobility infrastructure alongside pedestrian and bike safety initiatives.
• Washington County, OR (2010–2019): Served as the Director of Land Use and Transportation (LUT) in Hillsboro, Oregon, managing regional growth and county infrastructure.
• City of Tucson, AZ (2004–2010): Worked initially as the Deputy Director of Urban Planning and Design before being promoted to Deputy Director of Transportation.
• Regional & Local Planning (1990–2004): Held early career and leadership roles across New England and New York, including Executive Director of the Nashua Regional Planning Commission in New Hampshire and Town Planner for municipalities in Maine and Vermont.
Education & Credentials
He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New Hampshire. He completed his graduate studies at Columbia University, earning both a Master of Science in Urban Planning from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation and a Master of Public Health. He is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
Are you looking for specific information regarding his transportation policies, his work on Bellevue transit projects, or details on how to contact his department?
•
LinkedIn·Andrew Singelakis
Andrew Singelakis - -- | LinkedIn
Transportation Director City of Bellevue, Washington Jun 2019 - Present 7 years 5 months Director of Land Use and Transportation W...
•
Bellevue Chamber
Andrew Singelakis
Professional Bio Certified planner with over 30 years experience. Has worked across the country including New England, New York, A...
•
Arizona Daily Star
Striking differences please N.H. transplant - Arizona Daily Star
By Andrea Kelly Arizona Daily Star When he moved to Tucson in 2004, Andrew Singelakis basically needed a lesson in Western governm...
Show all
I want to hear about the good things they say about him.
Supporters, municipal partners, and public works organizations commend Andrew Singelakis for his collaborative approach to regional growth, commitment to pedestrian safety infrastructure, and track record of managing award-winning public works projects.
Throughout his career in municipal leadership, colleagues and industry groups have highlighted several key strengths:
Award-Winning Project Delivery
Singelakis has been recognized by the American Public Works Association (APWA) for spearheading infrastructure projects that successfully balance complex engineering demands with local community needs:
• Bellevue Transit Center Intersections (2024): Under his leadership, Bellevue's Transportation Department was honored with both the national and Washington state APWA Project of the Year Awards. The project elevated downtown intersections to match sidewalk levels, creating a safer, more inclusive environment for pedestrians connecting to the local light rail.
• Cornelius Pass Road Project (2017): While directing Washington County LUT, Singelakis managed a massive $18.3 million project that earned the Oregon APWA Project of the Year Award. He was praised for coordinating public agencies, private developers (including Intel), and contractors to overhaul safety, install buffered bike lanes, and improve traffic flow on a heavily congested arterial.
Commitment to Community Engagement
Public agencies have noted Singelakis's focus on transparent public dialogue when mapping out future urban infrastructure:
• Inclusive Transportation Studies: In 2018, his department won an Achievement in Community Engagement (ACE) Award from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development. The honor specifically recognized outstanding outreach strategies that integrated historically marginalized communities into regional transit planning.
Pragmatic, Balanced Leadership
Supporters and city communications often emphasize his practical approach to modernizing transit systems. He is viewed as an administrator who aims to satisfy broad policy goals by breaking them down into scalable, fiscally sound capital budgets. Proponents value his philosophy of "safety as a whole portfolio," indicating that every municipal transit investment should inherently advance overall commuter security.
Would you like to explore the specifics of his community outreach strategies, look closer at his award-winning Bellevue pedestrian projects, or examine some of the challenges and criticisms he has faced from transit advocates?
•
The Urbanist
Bellevue's Transportation Director Wants to Ramp Up ...
Singelakis has been helming Bellevue's transportation department since 2019, and oversaw the slow dismantling of the ambitious Bik...
•
Bellevue Chamber
Recap: Bellevue Mobility Coalition — June 17, 2026
Both reach the City Council this fall, and the Coalition is sharpening how it will weigh in. * A Master Plan, and Half a Million t...
•
Washington County, OR (.gov)
Washington County, JLA Public Involvement earn ACE award
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 16, 2018 The DLCD ACE awards recognize excellence in community engagement. Award criteria ...
Show all
What about his planning degree? He's an urban planner? I don't understand
Yes, he is a professional urban planner, and his career is a direct reflection of how urban planning and transportation overlap.
It is common to confuse transportation directors with civil engineers, but many modern transit systems are run by urban planners like Singelakis. Here is a simple breakdown of what that means and why his degree matters.
What is an Urban Planner?
Think of an urban planner as a city blueprint designer. While engineers figure out how to structurally build a bridge or a road, urban planners figure out where things should go, why they are needed, and how they affect the people living there. They look at the big picture, combining housing, transit, environment, and community health.
Why a Planning Degree Fits Transportation
Singelakis holds a Master of Science in Urban Planning from Columbia University. In modern cities like Bellevue, transportation is no longer just about paving roads for cars. It is about planning. His background helps him address:
• Growth and Zoning: Deciding how buses and light rail should connect to new apartment buildings and tech offices (like Amazon in Bellevue).
• Multimodal Systems: Designing streets so cars, buses, light rail, bicyclists, and pedestrians can safely coexist.
• Public Health: Because he also holds a Master of Public Health, his planning focuses heavily on creating walkable neighborhoods that reduce pollution and encourage exercise.
His Professional Credential (AICP)
To prove his expertise, Singelakis earned his AICP certification (American Institute of Certified Planners). This is the highest professional credential an urban planner can get in the United States. It means he has passed rigorous exams on city law, ethics, and sustainable development.
In short, his job isn't just about moving vehicles—it is about planning how transportation shapes the entire quality of life in Bellevue.
Would you like to know more about what he studied at Columbia University, or see examples of how urban planning principles are being used to change Bellevue's downtown streets?
yes
Bellevue’s downtown streets are heavily influenced by the intersection of urban planning and transportation infrastructure. Historically known as an automobile-focused suburb, Bellevue uses macro-level planning frameworks to transition into a walkable, transit-oriented city.
Under Andrew Singelakis's direction, the city employs core urban planning principles across major initiatives to reshape its downtown grid:
1. The Grand Connection Crossing (Multimodal Connectivity)
Instead of planning a standard overpass for cars, urban planners envisioned a 1.5-mile linear pedestrian and bicycle parkway.
• The Plan: This project spans from Meydenbauer Bay Park, straight through the downtown core, and crosses over I-405.
• The Goal: It stitches together two separated parts of the city, providing a safe, green corridor that links the downtown light rail station directly to the emerging Wilburton neighborhood.
2. Upgrading the "Curb Space" (Land-Use Optimization)
Traditional traffic engineering prioritizes moving vehicles as fast as possible. Urban planning evaluates the curb as valuable public real estate.
• The Plan: Bellevue's Curb Management Strategy shifts street space away from single-occupancy vehicle storage (on-street parking).
• The Goal: Planners are redesigning curb zones to prioritize bus lanes, dedicated freight delivery bays, and flexible spaces like outdoor street dining.
3. "Vision Zero" & Raised Intersections (Pedestrian Safety Design)
A classic urban planning principle is that streets should be designed around human behavior and safety rather than vehicle speed.
• The Plan: The Bellevue Transit Center project brought intersections up to the level of the sidewalk.
• The Goal: Forcing cars to ramp up to the pedestrian level inherently slows down vehicles and eliminates the physical drop-off barrier for transit commuters. This is reinforced by the expansion of the city's speed safety camera programs.
4. Consolidated Capital Budgeting (Big-Picture Strategy)
Singelakis spearheaded a redesign of the city's capital budget, shrinking 17 disparate traffic programs down to five master categories: vehicle mobility, bicycle mobility, neighborhood mobility, major projects, and preservation. This structural change requires city officials to evaluate how an individual road project impacts neighborhood health, cycling safety, and commercial transit access all at once.
Would you like to examine how Bellevue funds these multi-million dollar projects using tools like Tax Increment Financing, or look closer at the debates between car-centric design vs. bicycle advocacy in the city?
•
The Urbanist
Bellevue Rethinks How It Uses Its Most Valuable Real Estate
With the adoption of the plan, Bellevue will be poised to implement a number of pilot programs intended to improve how limited cur...
•
Bellevue Chamber
Recap: Bellevue Mobility Coalition — June 17, 2026
A Master Plan, and Half a Million to Build It A Simpler Capital Budget, Built Around Five Programs Separately, staff previewed a r...
•
City of Bellevue (.gov)
City of Bellevue Transportation Department Strategic Plan ...
CP2 – Bellevue Transit Coordination In 2025, Bellevue City Council supported the Locally Preferred Alternative for King County Met...
Show all
No I want to hear about his work at Columbia University, Andrew Singelakis
Andrew Singelakis’s time at Columbia University in the late 1980s was defined by a heavy, dual academic workload that directly shaped his entire career approach. Rather than taking a traditional path, he chose to pursue a rigorous dual-degree track, simultaneously earning a Master of Science in Urban Planning and a Master of Public Health.
His academic focus at Columbia highlights exactly how he approaches infrastructure today:
1. Dual-Focus Training
Singelakis split his time between two completely different graduate schools on Columbia's campus:
• The Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation (GSAPP): Where he mastered macro-level city planning, regional land-use laws, and zoning structures.
• The Mailman School of Public Health: Where he studied environmental health, epidemiology, and how the physical layout of a city impacts the biological and mental well-being of its citizens.
2. Bridging Health and Infrastructure
In the late 1980s, combining urban planning with a public health degree was highly progressive. Historically, 19th-century urban planning was born out of public health (to combat cholera outbreaks and overcrowded tenements by designing better sewage and parks). However, over the 20th century, the two fields drifted apart—planning became about moving cars, and health became about medicine. At Columbia, Singelakis was part of a movement to reunite them.
3. The Institutional Legacy
Because he graduated prior to 2012, his specific master’s thesis and field project abstracts are preserved in the physical archives of Columbia's Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library rather than digital open-source repositories. However, the core curriculum he completed required complex fieldwork across New York City's boroughs, analyzing neighborhood displacement, environmental equity, and metropolitan transit frameworks.
This academic foundation explains why he doesn't operate like a standard traffic engineer. When he designs a bike lane or a raised crosswalk in Bellevue today, he is applying the exact dual-lens framework he studied at Columbia: viewing a street not just as a chute for vehicles, but as a public health intervention.
Would you like to look into the history of how urban planning and public health intersect, or explore other prominent planners who use this specific dual-lens framework?
•
LinkedIn·Andrew Singelakis
Andrew Singelakis - -- | LinkedIn
Transportation Director City of Bellevue, Washington Jun 2019 - Present 7 years 5 months Director of Land Use and Transportation W...
•
Columbia GSAPP
Theses - Columbia GSAPP
Theses produced in recent years by graduates of the Urban Planning Program are listed below. Theses produced prior to 2012 include...
•
Columbia GSAPP
URBAN PLANNING
Sharon Egretta Sutton's When Ivory Towers Were Black about Columbia GSAPP's early experiments with community-driven design and pla...
i want to hear about his positive impatact in Peekskill, NY; Manchester, NH; Milton, VT; Brunswick, ME; Nashua Regional Planning Commission in New Hampshire, Transportation Deputy Director in Tucson; Deputy Planning Director in Tucson; Director of Land Use And Transportation in Washington County Oregon, and then as Transportation Director of Bellevue Washington.. I want a nice short story about his career
The Blueprint of a Planner: The Career of Andrew Singelakis
For over three decades, Andrew Singelakis has quietly reshaped the geography of American communities. Armed with a rare dual framework from Columbia University—mixing the logic of urban planning with the human focus of public health—his career has been a masterclass in turning concrete and asphalt into true community spaces.
From the historic towns of New England to the booming tech hubs of the Pacific Northwest, here is the story of his journey.
The New England Foundations: Planting Seeds of Community
The story begins in the tight-knit municipalities of the Northeast, where Andrew learned his craft by listening to local communities and protecting their unique character.
• Brunswick, Maine & Milton, Vermont: As a young town planner, Andrew didn't just look at zoning maps; he looked at the landscape. In these classic New England towns, his early work focused on preserving historic main streets while managing rural growth, ensuring that development never came at the cost of local heritage.
• Manchester, New Hampshire & Peekskill, New York: Moving into larger urban environments, Andrew brought a fresh perspective to neighborhood revitalization. He worked to bridge the gap between housing security and economic development, ensuring that community infrastructure directly supported the health and mobility of everyday residents.
• Nashua Regional Planning Commission (New Hampshire): Rising to the role of Executive Director, Andrew scaled up his vision. He brought together multiple independent towns to think as a single region. Under his leadership, the commission successfully coordinated regional transit plans, mapped out environmental protections, and advocated for infrastructure that laid the groundwork for his hometown area's long-term economic resilience.
The Desert Transition: Modernizing Tucson, Arizona
In 2004, Andrew brought his Northeastern experience to the rapidly expanding Southwest, stepping into leadership roles for the City of Tucson.
• Deputy Planning Director: Tucson was facing immense population growth. Andrew used this role to modernize the city’s land-use codes. He championed smart growth principles, ensuring that new residential developments were paired with necessary commercial hubs and green spaces.
• Transportation Deputy Director: Recognizing that housing and transit are inseparable, Andrew transitioned to lead the transportation department. Here, he shifted Tucson’s focus from merely building wider roads to creating an integrated, multimodal network. He laid the early groundwork for enhanced transit corridors, proving that desert cities could become walkable and accessible.
The Tech Corridors: Shaping the West Coast
By 2010, Andrew’s reputation for managing complex, fast-growing regions brought him to the Pacific Northwest, where he took on his most massive portfolios yet.
• Director of Land Use and Transportation (Washington County, Oregon): For nearly a decade, Andrew steered one of the economic engines of Oregon. Balancing the needs of global tech giants like Intel with agricultural preservation, his leadership was legendary. He managed massive, award-winning infrastructure overhauls—like the landmark Cornelius Pass Road project—which added crucial bike lanes and safety features to heavily congested corridors. His department’s innovative public outreach even earned state accolades for ensuring marginalized voices were included in major transit decisions.
• Transportation Director (Bellevue, Washington): In 2019, Andrew took the helm in Bellevue, a city rapidly transitioning from a car-centric suburb into a booming, high-rise metropolis. He immediately revolutionized how the city budgeted for infrastructure, organizing investments around human-centric mobility rather than just vehicular speed. Under his watch, Bellevue achieved national acclaim, winning the prestigious APWA Project of the Year Award for creating raised, sidewalk-level intersections that seamlessly and safely connect pedestrians to the city’s new light rail system.
The Legacy
From a town planner in Maine to a metropolitan director in Washington, Andrew Singelakis’s story is not about cars, asphalt, or traffic signals. It is a story about the thread that connects them all: the belief that a city’s transportation system should inherently be a public health asset, designed to safely bring people together.
Would you like to look closer at a specific project from one of these chapters, such as his award-winning work in Washington County or how his New England roots influenced his later leadership style?
AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses
Try without personalization
- Anonymous, November 4, 2026
