King County Metro Transit will open its new Redmond Park-and-Ride Garage on Monday, July 6. The $10.5 million garage is the second half of a project to revitalize transit facilities in downtown Redmond.
The new three-story garage is located at 16201 NE 83rd St. and replaces a surface park-and-ride lot that was opened by Metro more than 30 years ago. Bus riders will find the new garage convenient to the adjacent Redmond Transit Center that opened on Northeast 83rd Street in 2008.
The transit center is served by Metro Transit routes 221, 230, 232, 248, 250, 251, 253, 265, 266, 291 and 929, and Sound Transit Express Route 545.
The garage has 385 parking stalls, including 12 electric-vehicle charging stations, on three above-ground levels. It also features: open exterior stairs, glass-enclosed elevators, interior lighting, plus emergency alarm stations and security cameras on each floor.
The garage is located on the east half of the former park-and-ride lot. The other half of the site is being developed by Trammell Crow Residential as a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) that includes housing and commercial space.
Metro Transit’s project team worked cooperatively with the City of Redmond to incorporate the park-and-ride garage and the transit center into the city’s urban plan for Northeast 83rd Street. This included connecting pedestrians to the adjacent “The Edge Skate Park” and coordinating the architectural appearance of the garage exterior and bus shelters with the TOD project currently under construction on the south side of the garage.
For that project, Trammel Crow Residential has developed a 322-unit apartment complex. The first phase opened in May, and the second and third phases open over the next four months. The project provides excellent transit access and street level retail. Metro expects several hundred new transit riders from the residential development when it is fully occupied.
Over the past year, while the garage was being constructed, park-and-ride passengers have been allowed to park in leased spaces around the city. Bus riders are urged to begin using the new garage on July 6, since the leased parking that has been available will be closed to transit customers.
From 7-8:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 8, a small “customer appreciation” event with light refreshments and Metro information will be held to thank all those who put up with disruptions while the park-and-ride was rebuilt into the new garage. It will be hosted by Metro at the transit center.
