Redmond Link Stations and Walkability
This article will provide a brief overview of Redmond's Link stations walkability and bikeability. It's a followup to our Redmond Station Areas article a year ago. In the Starter Line segment that opened in 2024, Overlake Village station added protected bike lanes, while Redmond Technology station added pedestrian bridges across SR-520. For the Redmond Downtown extension opening May 10, Sound Transit added bike tunnels under SR-520. The City of Redmond reconnected the Marymoor Village area with a new street grid, and integrated the existing bike trail next to the Downtown Redmond station. All of these improvements help transit riders reach light rail stations easily and conveniently.
Overlake Village
Overlake Village Station Diagram
Overlake Village 3d RenderThe Overlake Village station is an at-grade side-platform station adjacent to the SR-520 freeway. For the south platform (eastbound), passengers can simply walk off the platform to the sidewalk. For the north platform (westbound), passengers walk across the tracks at-grade near the west or east ends of the station.
Overlake Village pedestrian bridge 
Overlake Village Station mapNormally freeway adjacent station are hard to reach from the opposite side. In 2024, Sound Transit added a pedestrian bridge to cross SR 520. Pedestrians can directly walk up the stairs from the east-end of the station to reach the bridge, while bikers can bike up the bridge access loop.
Overlake Village 2010 plans
Overlake Village ApartmentsTo the south, the Overlake Village area used to consist of suburban big box retail. Redmond in 2014 planned a vision of the area as a mixed-use center along with a new street grid. The plan was successful with a number of apartments built on the eastern half along with a new Esterra park in the center.
Diagram of 152nd Avenue NE Main Street
NE 36th Street bridgeThe 152nd Avenue NE Main Street project converted a north-south avenue adjacent to the light rail station, to a pedestrian oriented street with bike lanes. Northwest of the station, Redmond and Microsoft funded a NE 36th Street Bridge (2010) across SR-520.
Overlake Village Route Directness Map existing and future improvements (estimated)Those bridge and bike improvements help the walkability as measured by route directness shown in the map above. The apartments north of SR-520 such as Somerset Garden or Bell Overlake are now walkable from the light rail station using the new pedestrian bridge rather than the 148th Ave NE overpass. The Overlake Village area is also much more walkable with the new street grid.
Redmond Technology
Redmond Technology Center Station facing north
Redmond Technology Center Station diagramThe Redmond Technology station is an at-grade center-platform station adjacent to SR-520 situated in the middle of the Microsoft campuses. Both the south and north entrance/exit to the center platform have an at-grade rail crossing to reach the bus bays to the east. The south end of the platform also has stairs and an elevator to reach the second floor. From the second floor one can walk to either the 300-stall parking garage above the bus bays, to the eastbound freeway bus stop, or to the pedestrian bridge described below.
Similar to the previous station, the adjacent freeway blocks walkability. A new Redmond Technology Station Pedestrian Bridge connects across the freeway and connects the Microsoft's west campus to their new east campus.
Redmond New Campus 3d render (pedestrian bridge to the lower left) 
Microsoft Campus Map East Campus in yellow Microsoft modernized their eastern campus site, replacing 12 older office buildings with 17 new ones. Within the new campus there are no internal roads and only pedestrian paths similar to a college campus. All car traffic are routed to perimeter roads or the large underground garage.
NE 40th Street bike underpass(next to westbound off/on ramps for SR-520)
NE 40th Street shared use underpass (next to eastbound off/on ramps for SR 520)
Crossing the SR-520, NE 40th Street has a large number of cars coming off the freeway to reach Microsoft offices on either side. The heavy automobile traffic served as a barrier for both the bike trail on the west side and train riders crossing north of NE 40th Street. The new bike underpass on the west of SR-520 provides a grade-separated route for the SR-520 trail heading north to the Sammamish River trail. On the east of SR-520, the shared-use underpass connects transit riders to Microsoft Building 50 and 83.
156th Ave Cycle Track Project annotated with bike tunnelsComplementing the new bike underpasses on both sides of SR-520, Redmond added a new two-way cycle track along the east side of 156th Ave.
Marymoor Village Station
The Marymoor Village station is an at-grade center platform station located to the southeast of downtown Redmond across from the SR-520. To the east of the station is a parking garage with 1,400 parking spaces serving Redmond and farther towns such as Sammamish and Duvall as a park-and-ride.
Marymoor Village walking diagram
Marymoor Village Station 3d modelThe station only entrance/exit is to the east. One can take either the stair case from the center platform to the second floor of parking garage or cross the at-grade rail crossing south to SE 70th street. There are also bus bays on the ground floor of the parking garage.
Marymoor Village google maps view
Marymoor Village zoning planMarymoor Village used to consist of predominantly of offices and light industrial. The new zoning plan above proposed a new street grid with future pedestrian corridors in green. Some apartments were built in the area such as Piper Apartments and Spectra Apartments, while the rest remain as offices.
Redmond bike trails in greenThe existing two bike networks in Redmond are bisected by SR-520 cutting off easy east-west pedestrian and bike traffic.
Downtown Redmond Link Extension DiagramSound Transit will build a new bike/pedestrian tunnel underneath SR-520 paralleling the new light rail tracks. This would connect downtown Redmond to the East Lake Sammamish Parkway NE bike trail (southwest of map). A new bridge over Bear Creek will provide an atgrade trail connection between the East Lake Sammamish Trail and the Redmond Central Connector Trail. A new crosswalk would be added at the SR 520 westbound off ramp as well.
Downtown Redmond
The Downtown Redmond station will be an elevated center platform station in downtown Redmond and located just north of Redmond Town Center. It'll be the last terminus station for the extended East Link.
Downtown Redmond Interior
Downtown Redmond Flow DiagramThe elevated station will straddle over the (north-south) 166th Ave NE with exits/entrances on both sides of the street. For both sides, there will be an escalator and stairs facing away from 166th Avenue. An elevator next to the stairs will allow easy access to the elevated platform.
Downtown Redmond A pedestrian path will run east-west underneath the tracks, while the Redmond Central Connector (eastrail) bike trail will run east-west just north of the light rail. Bus bays will be located on Cleveland Street and NE 76th Street.
With the new Downtown Redmond station opening, King County Metro buses originally terminating at Redmond Transit Center will instead continue west to the light rail station. Specifically they will head south on 164th Ave NE and then loop around station along NE 76th St and Cleveland Street. Other Sound Transit Express bus routes will also start from the Downtown Redmond station rather than their current park and rides.
ConclusionThe Redmond light rail expansion signifies a major shift towards improved connectivity and urban accessibility. The SR-520 barrier is addressed with new bridges, underpasses, and integrated bike and pedestrian infrastructure. Local and express busses converge at stations, while nearby former large commercial lots are replaced with apartment complexes and new street grids.
Further Reading- Non-Motorized Connectivity Study (2014)
- Overlake Village
- Redmond Technology Center
- Marymoor Village
- Downtown Redmond
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