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| Fare Ambassadors wear blue-clad jackets and yellow hats |
Fare Ambassadors will only check for fares on platforms on the 1 Line during the summer of 2024. (But, payment of fares is still expected on 2 Line.)
Sound Transit expects to expand fare paid zone inspections to 2 Line stations as more riders begin using the system. One-way adult fares range from $2.25 - $3.50. (see Fare charges.)
Fare Ambassadors systematically review paid passenger fares. In pairs, they start at opposite ends of light rail vehicles and announce their presence before checking for paid fares. Have your proof of paid fare ready, and feel free to ask any questions. They will also inspect while waiting next to the tracks.
Source: Sound Transit ; Seattle Times (5/28)
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| Redmond Technology Station Train / credit "Experience Redmond" |
In August 2023, the Sound Transit Board voted for a phased approach to opening the East Link Extension, beginning with service between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology stations on April 27, 2024. Ribbon cutting date unknown at this time.
The 2 Line, which is not affected by quality issues related to construction, will open ahead of the I-90 segment.
The remainder of East Link, that crosses I-90 and includes Judkins Park and Mercer Island Stations is expected to open in 2025.
City of Redmond and Sound Transit Celebrate Opening of Overlake Village Pedestrian Bridge
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| From left to right: City Council Vice President Jessica Forsythe, Sound Transit Interim CEO Goran Sparrman, City Council President Vanessa Kritzer, King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Boardmember Claudia Balducci, Mayor Angela Birney, Councilmember Melissa Stuart, and Councilmember Angie Nuevacamina. |
REDMOND, WA - The City of Redmond celebrated the opening of the Overlake Village Pedestrian Bridge with a ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday. This vital link connects the light rail station at Overlake Village to the 520 Bike Trail across SR 520. The $10.4 million project enhances accessibility and fosters connectivity between key transit points in Redmond.
"The Overlake Pedestrian Bridge exemplifies the successful partnership between the City of Redmond and Sound Transit,” said Mayor Angela Birney. “This project creates an important connection for our community to access transit and demonstrate our commitment to sustainable and accessible transportation.”
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| click to enlarge image |
Service between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology Station begins Spring of 2024. Service to the Marymoor and Downtown stations are planned for 2025.
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| The 2 Line segment opening next spring will mean easy, traffic-free connections to where you live, work and play! |
Today the Sound Transit Board of Directors voted for a phased approach to opening the East Link Extension, beginning with service between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology stations in spring 2024.
As we’ve shared over the past year, delays caused by construction quality issues along the I-90 portion of the East Link Extension, which includes two more stations in Judkins Park and on Mercer Island, prompted Sound Transit’s staff and Board to reimagine our plans for beginning passenger service. We now expect to open this remaining section of the 2 Line, creating rail connections across Lake Washington, in 2025.
After greenlighting the phased approach today, the Sound Transit Board will finalize initial 2 Line service levels later this fall, when they consider the 2024 Service Plan. The plan will also set service levels for the Lynnwood Link opening, slated for next fall.
With the Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension opening next month and new Eastside and Snohomish County service launching next year, your light rail destinations are expanding in a big way in the near future. Here’s what we expect Sound Transit’s regional service will look like by the end of next year.
-- Sound Transit
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The light rail graffiti is adjacent Red Robin. It's disturbing. I've notified Mayor Birney and the code enforcement officer.
-- Bob Yoder, 8/7/2023
Ten Bicyclists Injured on the Burke-Gilman Trail's “Missing Link"
About Washington Bike Law:
Washington Bike Law (WBL) represents injured bicyclists statewide and helps make our streets safer for everyone. WBL was the first law office in the nation to be honored by the League of American Bicyclists as a Bike Friendly Business. Find more at www.washingtonbikelaw.com.
Bike accidents are probable in Redmond: 1) no protected bike lanes, 2) the intersection of Redmond Way and East Lake Sammamish Blvd. is hazardous and potentially deadly. The City of Redmond could be liable. (B. Yoder.)
SEATTLE – Ten people injured in bicycle crashes on the "Missing Link" of the Burke-Gilman Trail recently filed claims against the City of Seattle for its failure to make the existing roadway reasonably safe for ordinary travel, according to attorneys representing the individuals. The ten riders suffered varying degrees of injury ranging from contusions to broken bones to traumatic brain injury.
Washington Bike Law (WBL) and Schroeter Goldmark & Bender (SGB) are Seattle law firms cooperatively representing the bicyclists. “The aim of the claim notices filed today is not simply to achieve compensation for our clients’ injuries, but to prompt action by the City to prevent more people from being seriously injured by this known danger,” said SGB attorney Adam Berger.
The Missing Link is a 1.4-mile stretch in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood where the Burke-Gilman Trail abruptly ends, sending bicyclists onto streets that are still not reasonably safe for travel by bicycle. The ten bicyclists were all injured where many others have crashed before them: the Missing Link’s “Crash Zone,” a dangerous railroad crossing under the Ballard Bridge.
WBL’s Bob Anderton has represented multiple bicyclists injured in this same Crash Zone dating as far back as 2001.
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| Six-story Redmond Square on 166th Ave. neighborhood arterial |
FINAL REPORT: COMPLETE DISCLOSURE, 9/12/2022
ORIGIONAL SOURCE: CITY PROJECTS, July, 2022
180th Ct NE and NE 105th Way. Education Hill Call 425-556-2776 to confirm
Beginning August 19, 2022, a City of Redmond contractor will place a slurry seal on 180th Ct NE and NE 105th Way. This is a pilot project to test the effectiveness of slurry seals as a pavement maintenance technique.
😃And I thought the work was being done here because its in the Mayor's neighborhood! 😁
Hello Mr. Yoder,
I’m writing in response to your question about ADA curb ramps as I serve as the City's ADA curb ramp program manager.
Curb ramp replacements on 166th Ave NE are part of the City’s comprehensive ADA curb ramp program. Projects in the city, including ADA curb ramp program projects, are prioritized systematically through the Capital Investment Strategy (CIS) and Capital Improvement Plans (CIP).
As part of the ADA curb ramp program, the City completed a curb ramp assessment in 2013 for compliance with ADA regulations. The City also gathered community input in 2019 on existing locations where curb ramps should be replaced and created a prioritized list of locations for ramp replacements. Projects under the ADA curb ramp program were prioritized based on proximity to facilities such as schools, state/local government facilities, public bus and vanpool stops, places of public accommodation, and proximity to major employment centers.
Light rail crosses a mere *3-5 feet over Bear Creek, keeping low to pass under the SR 520 ramp. Raft was for tagging salmon.
Denuded riparian trees and vegetation will be enhanced and fully restored.
Photos by Yoder, 5/14/2022
*quote by Emily Flannigan, Senior Environmental Engineer.
Construction of the Downtown Redmond Light Rail Extension will impact a swath of trees and riparian habitat along Bear Creek in the vicinity of the Overlake Urgent Care Center west to Creekside Crossing and Redmond Center Open Space. Clearing and grading permits are required to remove 144 trees to accommodate the rail, Bear Creek "restoration," and construction access. Most of the trees will be planted off site because they won't survive in the wetland areas. For each significant tree removed, 6 saplings will be planted; for each landmark tree removed 18 saplings will be planted. A section of Bear Creek will have to be dredged to create a "back channel" for flood control and wetland habitat. Back channels are also valuable for salmon rearing.
Overall, approximately 500 linear feet of Bear Creek will be "restored or enhanced" when all is said and done. The Design Builder is encouraged to reuse previously removed trees for onsite habitat features. In addition, Sound Transit plans to purchase off-site wetland mitigation credits at the Keller Farm site further upstream along Bear Creek for any restoration that cannot be accommodated on-site.
All the work near Bear Creek described above is subject to review as part of the City’s shoreline and clearing and grading permits, the Army Corps and the tribes. Construction is over 3 years out.
-- City Council Study Session, 5/28
Meeting memo (map)
* In 2020 I took a tour of the site with City staff. They said the light rail will run five feet over Bear Creek. B.Y.
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| A typical downtown Spokane sidewalk. We saw one dude riding two scooters, one on each foot. |
Now, Redmond is another story. Land close to light rail is expensive and finite. Thus, 6-8 story buildings are crammed into our downtown, with razor thin set-backs, and narrow sidewalks. Even bike lanes are scant. Scooting is sketchy unless you move very slowly or take to the streets. Owing to their versatility and our needs, scooters could one day swarm our downtown streets and roads.
-- Bob Yoder, Photo, 8/25/2021
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| Rendering of the Downtown Redmond Station |
