The Eastside Rail Trail grows: Celebrate Renton-to-Bellevue Saturday + A look at Kirkland-to-Spring District
King County will celebrate the opening of the newest section of the Eastside Rail Trail in Renton Saturday. The four-mile segment connects Gene Coulon Park to Newcastle Beach Park.
Details from King County:
Bellevue's newest trail section doesn't really go anywhere " yetDear Friend of the ERC,
Join King County Parks and our ERC trail partners on Saturday, September 8 at 10:30 a.m., as we celebrate a new four-mile-long segment of the interim Eastside Rail Corridor Trail. The rails are gone, the gravel is down and we're ready to celebrate!
This new interim trail just south of I-90 connects Renton to Bellevue between Gene Coulon Park and Newcastle Beach Park, with connections to the Lake Washington Loop Trail at both ends.
When:Saturday, September 8 at 10:30 a.m. - noon
Where:On the ERC at North 43rd Street, Renton
The event will include activities for all ages.
We are excited to celebrate with our partners:
- City of Renton
- Choose Your Way Bellevue
- Cascade Bicycle Club
- The Trust for Public Land
We look forward to seeing you there!
Learn more about the ERC Trail at kingcounty.gov/parks/eastsiderailcorridor.
One the opposite side of Bellevue, I finally had an opportunity to check out a recently-opened section of the Eastside Rail Trail that effectively extends the existing Cross-Kirkland Corridor Trail another couple miles to Bellevue's under-construction Spring District.
Today, there is not a whole lot of transportation use in this new segment of trail, which has almost no access points between the South Kirkland Park & Ride and the temporary terminus. The Spring District remake is part of Bellevue's massive BelRed redevelopment effort. Today, there are cranes and construction fences seemingly everywhere.
But in coming years, East Link light rail stations will open and the Eastside Rail Trail should be further connected into downtown Bellevue. By then, there should be a lot more housing and street-level business in the area:
Meanwhile, Bellevue is currently taking comments on building some interim bike lanes on the nearby 124th Ave NE to help connect the Spring District area to downtown. A future rebuild of the street is set to have permanent bike lanes, but the city is hoping to help make the street safer in the meantime. You can support the bike lanes via the city's online survey.
Northrup Way is so close, yet so far.
The biggest need for this stretch of the trail is a connection to the 520 Trail/Northrup Way. You pass tantalizingly close, but there is no connection up to it. Perhaps a connection to 115th Ave NE under I-405 is the easiest way to make this connection in lieu of a larger project to connect the two major regional bike routes.