Redmond planners hear public support and concerns as transportation master plan heads back for study session

Redmond 's Planning Commission on Dec. 3 heard several hours of public testimony on the city's Transportation Master Plan as staff outlined outstanding issues and a schedule to return for a Dec. 17 study session.

The plan's transportation team, led by Michael Hintz, transportation planning manager, told the commission the TMP and supporting issues matrix will be revised after the hearing and that staff expect to seek a planning commission recommendation to council once outstanding issues are closed; staff also said the council is scheduled for a Jan. 27 study session and staff anticipate council adoption on Feb. 3, 2026 if issues are resolved.

Public advocates and residents were broadly supportive of the plan's safety and accessibility goals but pressed staff for refinements. Kelly Reaver of the nonprofit Move Redmond said, "This charts a really great path forward by focusing on safety and sustainability in our transportation," and urged the commission to prioritize an ADA transition plan, sidewalks and curb cuts, improved first- and last-mile access to light rail, and careful curb management to balance loading, parking and deliveries without creating safety conflicts.

Transport and active-transportation advocates also asked the commission to strengthen the plan's climate and equity commitments. David Morton praised the plan's focus on completing a high-comfort bicycle spine by 2035 but warned that projects such as arterial widening may be at odds with greenhouse-gas and vehicle-miles-traveled reduction targets. Morton highlighted the bicycle analysis, noting that "79% of current bikeways are high stress," and urged required climate-impact assessments for capacity-expansion projects and clearer documentation of the city's equity-analysis methodology.

Several speakers raised access questions for specific populations. Linda Seltzer, who identified herself as a senior-apartment resident, asked for direct transit service from the East Side to Seattle medical centers and expressed concern that bicycles and e-bikes may not be appropriate mobility options for older adults with certain medical conditions. She told commissioners, "There is a need for a direct transit route from the East Side to the major medical centers on 1st Hill in Seattle."

Brian Buck, executive director of support services for the Lake Washington School District, asked staff to retain the district's ability to assemble school sites, and praised staff's recommendation to remove a 192nd Avenue NE extension from the Transportation Facilities Plan after staff analysis showed it would bisect a district-owned school site. "Planning staff recommended the elimination of that project ... and we are pleased to see that reflected," Buck said.

On technical and implementation items, staff said the bicycle Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) map and corrected neighborhood-connections figures will appear in the Dec. 10 packet for the Dec. 17 study session; Figure 3 (a micro-mobility conversion graphic) will be removed. Staff also noted the public-works department will launch a citywide speed-limit study in January to analyze speeds and crash data, with community engagement before any changes are recommended. Commissioners debated whether TMP language on speed reductions should be prescriptive or reframed to emphasize study and consensus-building.

The commission closed the verbal public hearing but left the record open for written comment and moved into a study session to work through the issues matrix.