Impressions of Redmond Link
I was going to try to make the opening ceremony yesterday, but I'd walked extensively Friday so I did a shorter excursion in the afternoon. I haven't heard anything about how the ceremony went, how many people attended, or how full the buses were getting to it.
To compare my trip to normal ridership, usually the 550 in the early afternoon has twenty people, I'm the only one who transfers to the 2 Line at South Bellevue, and the P&R has less than 10 cars I can see. The 2 Line has around 10 passengers in my half car, even in the PM peak. Returning in the PM peak or evening, the 550 has 2-3 more people transferring at South Bellevue, and the bus has 40-50 people on it. Some weekend evenings it's standing room only, presumably on game days.
This time I left Seattle at 1:38pm on the 550. There were 27 boardings between 5th and South Bellevue. I got off at South Bellevue to transfer to the 2 Line, and twenty people followed. The P&R had a typical 10 cars I could see.
On the 2 Line my half car had 32 boardings between South Bellevue and Redmond Tech. Eight of those got off at East Main or Bellevue Downtown. That doesn't include the rest of the train I couldn't see fully. Several platforms had more than four times as many people, so I think my car was unusually empty. Several parents were introducing their children to the train. One family got on at South Bellevue and off at East Main, as if they were visiting every station. At Marymoor Village a large crowd came on. I didn't count them because they were already at the celebration and just going between the new stations.
Total travel time was 60 minutes: 550 (23 minutes) + walk (1 minute) + wait (8 minutes) + 2 Line (23 minutes). When the full 2 Line opens that should shave it down to 42-45 minutes.
The new track has a nice view overlooking Marymoor Park. Other picturesque views are Lake Bellevue north of Wilburton station, and the Bellefields office park north of South Bellevue station.
Both Marymoor Village and Downtown Redmond stations had large crowds and over dozen booths each. Marymoor Village had more kids-oriented booths, while Downtown Redmond was more transit-and-urbanism booths.
The Urbanist had a booth so I talked to one of the guys there, and took their transit quiz. I got the number of 2 Line stations wrong (I forgot Redmond Tech), and the monthly ridership peak (surprise surprise, it was November 2024 in winter). The station had a banner on the wall with Welcome" in 15 different languages. Then I saw three more banners with other languages.
In the Welcome Redmond Link article I said the Redmond Connector Trail was under the Link track, because I thought the entire non-freeway tail was elevated like Redmond Downtown station. In fact only the station is elevated; the rest of the track is surface and the trail is adjacent north of it. Marymoor Village station is on the surface too. You cross the tracks to get to the platform. There are railroad-style flashing red lights but no gate. This is in contrast to Redmond Tech or SODO stations that have little door-gates you open.
The trail has a beautiful brown bridge over the Sammamish River, and goes under highway 520. In the article I said the trail changes name to the East Sammamish Trail and continues to Issaquah, but in fact the trail ends at an intersection at the station. The East Sammamish Trail starts a couple blocks east at another intersection.
I went to Stone Korean restaurant, a block east of Marymoor Village station. I swear it has moved; the parking lot and facade look smaller than I remember and it's further from Redmond Way. I discovered a Whole Foods in the same plaza. The restaurant may have moved to a new mixed-use building. From the train I saw a Value Village north of 520 so I looked for that. I tried the building across from the Safeway but that wasn't it; it must be the block further east. Stone may have moved from one of those lots. As for the pancake house, there are two of them, one in Marymoor Village, the other in Redmond Town Square. I didn't make it to either due to walking fatigue.
Anderson Park is open, at 168th & Redmond Way. It has log cabins from Redmond's early days, a metal statue of a woman and child, and a P-patch.
The kids' art walk" was supposed to be on the connector trail at 4pm. I walked on the eastern part at 4:15 and didn't see them; they have have still been at the far western end.
I left at 5pm on the 2 Line. It was standing room only until the next station, Marymoor Village. The rest of the way to South Bellevue it remained still busy, twice as much my eastbound trip had been.