During a conversation with a friend who lives on Education Hill I mentioned that the future South Marymoor Sound Transit Center will have 1400 parking spaces. It’s difficult to imagine what 1400 spaces looks like from a map on a website; I thought it would be interesting to put that in perspective when compared with existing lots in Redmond. According to GoRedmond there are 377 parking spaces at the Redmond Park & Ride Garage, 222 at the Overlake Transit Center (closed during construction), 203 at the Overlake Village Park & Ride and 283 at the Bear Creek Park & Ride. There are 249 parking spaces between downtown businesses in the map below – 92 of those are at the Public Parking lot on Leary Way. Parking is free for the first 4 hours, $5 after that.
The City identifies more than 650 on-street parking spaces downtown (map below)
The proposed Overlake Village Station (along SR 520 at 152nd Avenue NE) will have 320 parking spaces, but not until 2023 when the construction of light rail project is completed. This lot is planned to serve buses, light rail, para-transit and Microsoft Connector shuttles; it will also have a bike and pedestrian bridge across SR-520.
The nearby Redmond Technology Center (SR 520 at NE 40th Street) will have over 300 parking spaces.
The plans for Redmond Eastlink Station indicate 1400 parking spaces will be available at the South Marymoor station, but no parking spaces at the “Downtown Redmond Station”.
As an additional point of reference I thought I would ask about the approximate number of parking spaces available at Redmond Town Center. This was a more difficult task than I ever imagined!
I spent quite a bit of time reading through maps, leasing brochures, various website links and was unable to find even a close estimate. I sent an email to the Town Center Management company to ask for their parking space count; Holly Clausen, Guest Services Manager at RTC was “not able to provide that information.” She indicated that the “City of Redmond may be able to assist you in your research.”
I contacted Hank Myers, City Councilmember for the City of Redmond with my request. Hank passed my question on to Erika Vandenbrande who responded with a map of Redmond Town Center. There are some interesting City statistics on this link, some glossy photos, information on the new Archer Hotel and the Redmond TC Talisman Apartments, but no count of the parking spaces. The map does provide a layout of upper and lower parking levels (but not the roof level layout). I estimate there are approximately 780 spaces in the parking structure facing NE 76th Street (roughly 260 per level with 3 levels; I have not separated handicapped or other special use parking spaces). There are approximately another 720 spaces (240 per level for 3 levels) in the parking lot to the west of the theater on 164th Avenue NE and NE 74th. That totals 1500 parking spaces. There are also parking spaces at the south side of the mall that serve BJ’s and the new Archer Hotel (plus the parking specifically for the hotel); in addition there are lots between Bed, Bath & Beyond, Red Robin, Petco and Pier 1 Imports and the Microsoft parking lots. Those are not included in the numbers I’ve listed above. Bart Phillips, CEO of OneRedmond who was able to locate 2008 Redmond Parking Study (pages 36 & 39) listing 2,137 parking spaces in the “Town Center District” including surface and structured parking. He also found a 2014 Redmond Parking Study (pages 14,15) that counted 4,053 slots in the Town Center District. Mr. Phillips felt Redmond Town Center might be under some pressure because of the loss of parking due to the construction of the Archer Hotel and Talisman Apartments. Although the Town Center is a private business, I still find it peculiar that there are not actual published numbers of parking spaces for the Town Center. So, to summarize: Redmond Town Center 2,000 + spaces (estimated) South Marymoor Station (ST3) 1400 spaces Redmond Park & Ride Garage 377 spaces Overlake Park & Ride 320 spaces (in 2023) Bear Creek Park & Ride 283 spaces Overlake Village Park & Ride 203 spaces Leary Way Parking lot 92 spaces Downtown Street Parking 650 + spaces
Is this enough parking for our growing city? Is the City overestimating how many people will get around through walking, biking and mass-transit? Make sure you let the Council and Mayor know where you stand on this and other issues by contacting them at mayorcouncil@redmond.gov or council@redmond.gov. You can also contact councilmembers individually here. Stay informed, stay involved. ~ Paige