Sound Transit to open two new stations in Redmond May 10; agency, city plan community celebrations

Sound Transit officials told the Redmond City Council on May 6 that two new light-rail stations — Marymoor Village and Downtown Redmond — will open Saturday, May 10, as part of a 3.4-mile 2 Line extension into downtown Redmond.

The agency said opening-day programming will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Downtown Redmond station with remarks and a ribbon-cutting; revenue service is scheduled to begin around noon, with trains every 10 minutes thereafter until about 9:30 p.m. on opening day.

The presentation, delivered by Arielle Taylor, director of government and community relations for East King County at Sound Transit, described the extension as the first ST3-funded light-rail expansion to enter service since voters approved the package in 2016. "This is a very big milestone, not just for the agency, but for Redmond and the region," Taylor said.

Why it matters: the extension promises new regional transit connections for Eastside commuters and recreational users and includes a large park-and-ride and several trail links intended to give riders choices other than driving SR-520 during peak travel times.

Sound Transit said the Marymoor Village Station will include a 1,400-stall parking garage — the largest parking facility in the agency's system — and direct trail connections into Marymoor Park. The Downtown Redmond Station will link to the Redmond Central Connector and other trail corridors. Sound Transit staff emphasized multimodal access: bike parking, Orca vending machines and nearby bus interfaces.

The agency described current 2 Line service running every 10 minutes from about 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and said schedules and equipment will expand when the Cross-Lake connection opens: "When we cross Lake Washington, those will expand to 4-car trains for extra capacity," Taylor said. Sound Transit said the trip from Downtown Redmond to Downtown Bellevue takes about 19 minutes.

Savannah Steele, Sound Transit manager of government and community relations, outlined opening-day festivities and community partners, saying dozens of local nonprofits, performing groups and vendors will staff activations at both stations. Steele said community groups organizing bike rides, helmet giveaways and other family events will be on hand and that large community participation is expected based on turnout at previous openings.

Councilmember Stewart asked about artwork and community representation in station graphics. Taylor said Sound Transit dedicates 1% of its capital program to public art and that many images and installations at the stations were created through long-term community engagement: "A lot of the folks who are visually up on the stations…those are folks that have been with us and part of our community engagement throughout the project," she said.

No formal council action was requested or taken. Sound Transit invited council members and the public to attend the May 10 opening and community celebrations.

Arielle Taylor, director of government and community relations (East King County), and Savannah Steele, manager of government and community relations, represented Sound Transit at the meeting. Councilmembers and the mayor attended and asked questions during the presentation.

Looking ahead: Sound Transit said additional segments and linkages (including the Cross-Lake connection to Seattle) will open later, at which point service hours and train lengths will increase.