Today, Redmond will celebrate the completion of the final phase of the Redmond Central Connector trail, an important multimodal link that will finally bridge Downtown Redmond with Eastrail, the Eastside’s longest walking and biking corridor. The third segment of the trail to open, the Connector now extends all the way north to NE 124th Street, where riders can either head toward Kirkland or Woodinville.
The new 1.6 miles of paved, lighted trail officially opened to users earlier this summer, bringing riders up the east side of Willows Road alongside the Willows Run golf course. An $8 million project, it was funded in part by state and federal grants, alongside a $1.1 million federal appropriation obtained by Congresswoman Suzan DelBene.
“Completing the Redmond Central Connector Trail marks the culmination of a decade and a half of visionary leadership and hard work,” Redmond Mayor Angela Birney said in a release touting Friday’s ribbon-cutting celebration. “This trail not only connects Redmond to our neighbors in Sammamish, Kirkland, and Woodinville — it also connects us to many of the things that make Redmond special, including the natural beauty of the Sammamish Valley, parks, gathering places, public art, transit, local businesses, and the energy of Downtown.”
With a direct connection to Eastrail, Redmond is well positioned to benefit from the planned extensions of that county-led regional walking and biking highway that are set to come online in the coming years, including connections across I-90 that will finally bridge Renton with the central Eastside, and a northern extension of Eastrail through Woodinville up into Snohomish County.
“The Redmond Central Connector is a critical link in our regional trail network, bridging the East Lake Sammamish Trail to the Eastrail,” Kelli Refer, the Executive Director of Move Redmond, told The Urbanist. “This new connection isn’t just about recreation; it also provides safe, direct access for people walking, biking, and taking transit to jobs and schools along the Willows Road corridor.”
The new trail is a high-profile example of a flurry of bicycle and pedestrian projects moving forward right now in Redmond, in the wake of the opening of the city’s four Sound Transit light rail stations that continue to draw more and more riders. Buffered bike lanes on Bel-Red Road, along with shared use paths on NE 70th Street, 156th Avenue NE, and NE 40th Street are all in the project pipeline, as the city prepares for continued population growth.
Last fall, the Redmond City Council voted to allow taller residential towers near the Overlake Village, Marymoor Village, and Downtown Redmond light rail stations, though builders have warned onerous regulations, including recently ratcheted up affordability requirements, could put a damper on future growth spurts.
Redmond’s moves to expand safe bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure stands in strong contrast with its neighbor Bellevue, which is also preparing for the launch of the full 2 Line across Lake Washington next spring. Bellevue leaders pulled back on any infrastructure that would reallocate existing travel lanes or parking lanes — taking the projects with the potential to have the biggest impact off the table. Redmond’s bike lanes on Bel-Red Road won’t extend south of the city limits, with any potential near-term Bel-Red changes vetoed by the Bellevue City Council last July.
Move Redmond will be co-hosting a community celebration marking the completion of the Connector trail on Saturday September 20th, at 9:30am, with Eastrail Partners and Best Side Cycling.
Ryan Packer has been writing for The Urbanist since 2015, and currently reports full-time as Contributing Editor. Their beats are transportation, land use, public space, traffic safety, and obscure community meetings. Packer has also reported for other regional outlets including BikePortland, Seattle Met, and PubliCola. They live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.
