Sound Transit says Downtown Redmond light-rail extension opens May 10; Marymoor Village to serve Sammamish riders

Sound Transit officials told the Sammamish City Council on April 8 that the Downtown Redmond extension of the 2 Line will open to the public on May 10, with community events and ribbon-cutting activities scheduled at Downtown Redmond and Marymoor Village stations.

The announcement came during a presentation from Bridal Taylor and Savannah Steele of Sound Transit’s government and community relations team. "My name is Bridal Taylor. I am on the government relations team at Sound Transit specifically focused here in East King County," Taylor said as she introduced the project overview. Sound Transit described the Downtown Redmond segment as 3.4 miles of new light-rail service and noted the service will initially operate in two-car trains and on roughly 10-minute headways in the core hours listed in Sound Transit schedules.

The city was told Marymoor Village Station — located just inside Redmond and within roughly a mile of Sammamish’s northern boundary — includes a 1,400-stall parking facility that Sound Transit expects Sammamish residents to use. "We built that facility, Sound Transit built that facility knowing that it is within a mile of the northern ... border of the city of Sammamish," Taylor said, adding the agency aims to “catch people before they get onto State Route 520 and try to avoid some of that traffic impact.”

Savannah Steele described opening-day plans: a ribbon cutting at 10:30 a.m. and the first trains operating at noon, with community programming at both stations through the afternoon. Steele said organizers intend a variety of community activations based on the 2 Line opening events held last year; Sound Transit drew 35,000 people to a previous 2 Line opening.

Council members asked operational questions. Councilmember Sid Gupta asked when Metro route 269 would change to coordinate with the light-rail station; Taylor said King County Metro plans to adjust the service and she would follow up with specifics. Taylor described transit-oriented access options including regional trails and bike storage at the station, and confirmed the bike lockers will accommodate e-bikes and require ORCA card access.

On fares and enforcement, Taylor said Sound Transit uses fare ambassadors focused on education and customer assistance and noted programs such as ORCA LIFT to help riders with low fares. Regarding station parking charges, Taylor said Sound Transit does not open new garages with pay-to-park in place but can implement a modest pay-to-park program if utilization exceeds thresholds (she said 95% utilization is the trigger), with typical fees in the low single-digit to low double-digit dollar range per day.

Sound Transit officials also described security staffing: uniformed transit security officers and King County Sheriff support at stations and on trains. "Transit safety is ... an actual core value at Sound Transit," Taylor said.

The council did not take formal action on the presentation. Sound Transit left councilmembers with follow-up commitments on Metro service changes and other operational specifics.

The presentation also included a regional overview of the voter-approved Sound Transit system and a brief update that the cross-Lake Washington connection (the segment that will connect the 2 Line across I‑90) is still pending testing of the floating bridge track and will come online later this year as testing permits.