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by Adron

A Re-introduction to Transit Sleuth via Link Light Rail

Today marks about the ~20th or so day I’ve ridden the light rail from Redmond to South Bellevue, and then transferred to the Sound Transit Express 550 from there to downtown.

My commute priority has always been about functional use versus speed or other criteria. When I write functional use, what I mean is can I use the commute for something besides just wasting away rotting like one might do in a cage (i.e. a car). Even when I have used a car in the past, the focus still remained exactly that.

Simply put, I despise the idea I follow the modern American tradition of plopping myself into a car, that I’ve worked a job to buy, to sit in traffic – often stop and go or just stopped – to go to a job that I work to do shit like buy a car. I prefer my job funds go to strategic and tactical things like living life. Travel, exploration, games, beer, good food, racing cars, bikes, more bikes, and other entertaining and enriching things vs. buying a car, maintaining a car, paying rent, and all that rat race bullshit.

So now that I’ve written this, I hope to be back soon on a regular basis writing on this blog. If for any other reason, because I enjoy it. But also to document my commuting adventures and related things. Hopefully I’ll conjure up the energy to also start putting videos together again, ya know like this one, this, or this.

Back to the Link Light Rail

With the opening of the Redmond Station, the commute – even in spite of it being 2 parts still – has dramatically improved. Largely because I can take a significant part of the trip via light rail. That means listening to music, getting some code written, videos watched, maybe edited, AI’s vibe coding, views observed, maybe a snack, some AI models processed, or simply enjoying my coffee while en route to the office.

Sometimes, shockingly, I’ll even meet someone and we’ll have a good solid kick ass conversation while en route! But why am I riding the light rail these days?

How Did I Get Here?

Ok, somewhat dreadfully, based on the Seattle area leadership’s inability to deliver on much of anything promised, the Ballard Link Light Rail didn’t look like it was ever going to happen in my life time (i.e. the next ~20-40 years at least). The house I lived in also wasn’t cutting it, so family deemed a new house was in order and we began to search a few years back.

It was hard going. Forget money even, which is it’s own problem with housing these days, houses just weren’t available. Not with the basic – for us – that put a house into qualifying. The characteristics of the house we wanted, in order of importance;

  • being on a trail(s) or dedicated bike infrastructure
  • being near park(s) and woodland space
  • being away from any primary interstate or highway arterial (preferable to stay away from carcinogens)
  • being near transit options to get into and out of Seattle downtown
  • being near transit options to get to King St Station and SEATAC and/or other airport with area departure options.
  • being away from any primary roadway arterial
  • being most quiet
  • being walkable (i.e. do sidewalks exist, do business exist?)
  • being low crime (honestly, only sort of important in certain ways)
  • minimum number of rooms for remote/home work in addition to kiddo space
  • no HOA cuz forget that shortsighted self-fascistic nonsense
  • MAGAt density is no more than 1 out of 10 (super easy in this area, since low crime areas have very low MAGAt density) **
  • minimum ~1600 square feet
  • enough land to use for a victory garden (i.e. something like ~200 sq ft minimum, more is better)

Redmond? What? Not intuitive!

Naturally we assumed we could only really get something that would have maybe ~3-5 of these items, and then maybe part of another 5-10. We searched and searched and searched and finally, after offers put in, offers turned down, we finally expanded our search outside of Seattle to some east side locations and landed an offer in Redmond. Somewhat shockingly it has a multitude of these things in full and all of them to a partial degree.

The only things Redmond, outside of its downtown core fails on is a few things;

  • Walkability to do anything useful outside of Redmond’s downtown core is questionable and often requires other modal options to complete. However, that said, almost everywhere in Redmond has sidewalks, clear paths, and ways to get places, it just might take 15-45 minutes depending on where one lives.
  • Transit options are spectacular if you are in the downtown core. However leaving the downtown core it becomes immediately questionable whether you will have good transit options.
  • The light rail, as this post is about, massively changes the dynamic into and out of Redmond, Bellevue, and in about a year – theoretically – into Seattle for the east side. Even without the bridge into Seattle being open, it’s still changed the dynamic of the east side in a very positive way.
  • Even though we’re away from primary arterials and highways, interstates, and the like. The roadway system is setup in an auto-focused way that leads people to some expediently stupid behaviors. Negligence and obliviousness – as you might expect – reign supreme with east side drivers. The majority do endeavor to be polite and all but people generally just suck at driving. So YMMV in your automotive driver interactions.

With that being the baseline we have ended up over here in Redmond. So far it’s actually pretty sweet, more so than I thought when we first made the decision and landed the house. Simply put, we live a very European style life over here in Redmond and recently I’ve started commuting to a downtown Seattle office.

Back to The Topic At Hand: Link Light Rail Line 2

My commute now ends up being an interesting and enjoyable string of modal options.

1st – To get to the Link station, I come down from the Redmond hills via bike. There I roll into the now open station, swipe my Orca Card, bump the elevator button and up I go to board the Link.

2nd – Upon boarding the Link I rack the bike. Extremely easy to do since this is the originating station and I generally board a train that has few people on it at its start. Then off we zip toward the – current – other end of the line in South Bellevue. During this segment of the trip I take a seat and out comes the laptop. As mentioned earlier in the post the code, videos, editing, or other activities ensue. After the short trip as we leave the stop just before South Bellevue I slip the laptop back into my pack, and unrack the bike for departure. Upon an elevator ride down, I roll over to wait for the arrival of the Seattle bound Sound Transit Express 550.

3rd – The bus fills the current gap while they wrap up construction work on the I-90. The 550 serves the purpose well, and it isn’t overly packed. This puts me in a position to whip the laptop back out and spend a little more time getting shit done, reading, or whatever I may. Upon arrival in downtown I alight the bus, unrack my bike, and then begin the last short segment to the office.

4th – I then enjoy this last segment riding Spacey to the office. It’s always a smooth, seamless, trip around and along various roads and bike infra in downtown. I tend to change up the route just a bit every time I take the trip.

That’s it. That’s my commute these days, and hot damn it’s an enjoyable one! This time of year especially as the weather gets nice and I’m a quick roll – amidst the hilarious insanity of the car oriented commute – to breweries, the epic Seattle waterfront, and other places to chill before the trip home.

More adventures, thoughts, and interludes of written words in the coming days and weeks. Hope your commute rocks, or if you don’t, that you’ve got an enjoyable day to day. Cheers!

** MAGA specifically. Not a fan of confused fascists. I realize this does not include general Republicans or conservatives, especially of the Reagan, Eisenhower, or even Lincoln variety. Since obviously, none of those Presidents were fascists, maybe shitty, but not wannabe fascists.

by Adron

Link Light Rail opens in Redmond

I wrote about some pedantic details in the last post here. Check that for some nuggets and the current situation logistically. But read on for some observations from opening day!

I wrote a thread on Mastadon, Threads, and Blue Sky too. Click through to check em’ out.

Thread Summary
– Redmond light rail opening today: Celebrating the debut of service to Redmond Technology Station.
– First southbound ride: The fresh thrill of speeding out of Bellevue, over I-405 and sprawling lots, into Redmond.
– Elevated magic: The segment between Wilburton and Bellevue stations, soaring above streets in a blink—reducing a 5-10-minute slog to 45 seconds of pure “whee.”
– Empty parking lots everywhere: Wild expanses of asphalt ripe for redevelopment—if the economy holds up.
– Broken elevator / IYKYK: Only one failing escalator on the 2 Line over at Wilburton. That’s a seemingly good ratio for Sound Transit and escalators.
– Bike corral buzz: Cascadia Bikes’ racks overflowing—major props to everyone who pedaled in.

Rolling into Redmond Technology Station for the First Time
There’s nothing quite like that first southbound trip into Redmond Technology Station. After waiting months for what I personally will now find the most useful segment of light rail in the area. It seems the wait has taken eons.

The Elevated Spectacle
Peek out the window as you depart Bellevue Station: a dizzying montage of concrete and greenery. The rail track climbs, slicing through the skyline with surgical precision. Down below, cars inch along, helplessly stuck in gridlock. Up here, you’re at street level with the brids—or at least with the tops of pine trees. It’s the kind of view that makes you feel like the future might arrive in the USA yet, albeit one powered by a modest electric motor humming serenely beneath the floor.

Asphalt Oceans & Urban Dreams
West of the station lies an ocean of empty parking lots—so vast you’d think Microsoft itself had spawned them all. It’s eerie, almost dystopian… until you remember the upside: raw redevelopment potential. Imagine mixed-use towers, live/work lofts, parks, eateries—an entire urban neighborhood rising from the asphalt. That is, assuming our economy doesn’t implode in the next couple of years, as that might lead to it not happening for decades upon decades. Fingers crossed, America, fingers crossed.

Two Wheels, One Corral
Shout-out to Cascadia Bikes for setting up a deluxe bike corral—overflowing with riders who made the wise call to pedal in. Seriously, if you rolled up on two wheels, you’re a genius. Fresh air commute, zero parking worries, and you still get to high-five your fellow cyclists. Hats off—or helmets on—to you.

Mode-Shaming: Because Someone Has To

  • Biked: You’re smart.
  • Walked/Bus’d: Good call.
  • Drove: You’re a jack-ass clogging up the pedestrian friendly area of town. Why even? Don’t do that shit.

Next time, ditch the car and catch the train. Your neighbors (and everyone’s blood pressure) will thank you.

More Technical Details

The new bike routes to the stations are spectacular, check out more about them here.

by Adron

Here’s the straight‐up status on Sound Transit’s Link expansion into Redmond

Published April 26, 2025 • by Adron Hall

You’d think after eight years of planning and broken promises we’d be cruising into downtown Redmond and gliding across I-90 into Seattle by now. Instead, we’re stuck in a never-ending limbo of concrete re-works, ribbon-cuttings, and “coming soon” bulletins. Here’s the unvarnished status on both fronts.

1. Rolling Into Redmond: Sort-of — But Not Yet Downtown

The first phase of East Link finally blasted into Redmond Technology Station on April 27, 2024, hauling in a whopping 35,000 riders on day one. That stretch—running between South Bellevue and the Overlake Transit Center site—proved we can build tracks and run trains when we really want to.

But if you live, work, or play in downtown Redmond, you’re still stranded on the bus. The Downtown Redmond Link Extension adds two stations—Marymoor Village (just south of Marymoor Park) and Downtown Redmond (in the retail/core area)—but they won’t swing open until Saturday, May 10, 2025. Expect a 10:30 a.m. ribbon cutting at the new Downtown Redmond Station, with “regular” service kicking in around noon.

Construction kicked off back in October 2019. Crews hustled through track work, systems-integration testing (including late-night “live-wire” trials last fall), and the usual quota of quality-control headaches. Despite Covid slow-downs and a concrete-truck strike pushing timelines, finishing this last half-mile of track is finally in sight—just in time for summer traffic to remind us why we needed rail in the first place.

2. Crossing the Lake: East Link Over I-90 — Still Tethered to Shore

Meanwhile, on the western end of East Link, the segment that actually gets you from Seattle to Bellevue (via Judkins Park and Mercer Island) has been inching along even slower. The bones of the project—10 miles of track, floating-bridge foundations, and two new stations—were supposed to open in 2023. Instead:

  • Live-Wire Testing: Crews energized the overhead wires on the I-90 floating bridge in October 2024, complete with test trains rumbling across the lake under cover of night.
  • Defective Plinths: Remember the concrete “plinths” that cracked under the rails? Fixing those ate up most of 2024. Contractors hit 80% completion on the rebuild back in the summer, but slip-ups and re-inspections kept pushing milestones into late-year.
  • “Late 2025” Launch Window: Officially, Sound Transit has been coy—“expected to open in 2025,” they say. Insider whispers (and Reddit threads) peg it toward the tail end of 2025, but no firm month is on the books yet.

In short, don’t pencil in a commute over I-90 on Link for your Q1 2026 budget forecast. Keep riding the 550 for now and plan on that being the option.

3. Why It Matters—and Why Many Are Still Mad

  • Traffic Toll: Every day we delay rail, thousands of cars clog Bellevue Way, SR 520, and 148th Ave NE. That’s wasted fuel, time, and sanity.
  • Economic Impact: Microsoft, Nintendo, Costco Corporate—many are planting roots on the Eastside. Reliable, frequent rail isn’t a luxury; it’s mandatory infrastructure.
  • Credibility Gap: Voter-approved in 2008, with dozens of delays since, Sound Transit is inching toward a 116-mile system by 2041…if we believe the current schedule.

4. The Bottom Line

Redmond Technology Station: Open since April 27, 2024.

  • Downtown Redmond & Marymoor Village: Opening May 10, 2025 (10:30 a.m. ribbon-cut, noon service).
  • I-90 Floating Bridge to Mercer Island & Seattle: “Late 2025”—no firm date.

Ask yourself: when “late 2025” rolls around, will we finally get the seamless, cross-lake Link service we’ve been promised for the better part of two decades? Or will there be another concrete glitch, another supply chain setback, another “new” delay? Stay tuned—just don’t hold your breath.

by Adron

Unbelievable Luck: Recovering A Lost Wallet From The Bus

I boarded the bus earlier today, a 221 heading into central Redmond and onward to points south. Midway down the road one of the passengers noticed a wallet on the floor of the bus. He picked it up, asked around who’s it was, and then mentioned it to the driver and handed it over to him.

He eventually got off the bus just about two or three stops later. Upon pulling away at the very next stop, the owner of the wallet euphorically saw it on the dash and was reunited with here wallet.

That probability, that luck, is wonderful to see and impossible to expect! Great to see someone’s day not ruined.

To note, for those that don’t know, this isn’t all that uncommon in the pacific northwest of the USA. I’ve lost mine and had it returned, I’ve dropped my phone on the bus and had it returned. It’s amazing what a generally good natured and trusting people tend to enable. A lot fewer ruined days in these parts of the USA than the lands I grew up in, that’s for sure!

by Adron

Trying to Save Redmond from Its Auto-Obsessed Past – Exploring the 152nd Street and Overlake Area Projects: A Vision for Redmond’s Future

Redmond and Bellevue, long synonymous with sprawling parking lots and endless highways, vertical spines of suburban hoity toity tasteless strip malls, are finally trying to shake off their addiction to the automobile. The new projects around 152nd Avenue NE, 156th Cycle Track, and Overlake Village Infrastructure are touted as the next big thing in making the area “livable”—because clearly, we’ve all been loving those car-infested corridors so much that it took decades to realize something was off. Here’s a look at the “ambitious” plans to reclaim some humanity from the asphalt wilderness.

152nd Avenue NE Main Street: The Quest for a Pedestrian’s Paradise in Car-Land

The 152nd Avenue NE Main Street project aims to turn a once soul-crushing stretch of road into something “pedestrian-friendly.” Imagine that: walking down a street where you’re not just waiting for a crosswalk signal like it’s an act of divine mercy. This project will roll out wider sidewalks, because, surprise, people do actually walk, and protected bike lanes, because it turns out bikes aren’t just a relic of the past. In addition, they intend to put in place an actual street grid like a real city!

The city planners are throwing in some landscaping and public art—likely to distract us from the decades of prioritizing cars over community. And yes, we’ll get street lighting that’s more than just the sad, dim bulbs that currently light up the vast emptiness of parking lots. It’s a bold move to try and inject some vibrancy into a street where, up until now, “scenic” meant looking at the back of someone’s SUV.

156th Cycle Track: Because Cyclists Deserve Better than Dodging Cars

For the brave souls who dare to bike in a city built for cars, the 156th Cycle Track is the beacon of hope we’ve been waiting for—or at least, it’s supposed to be. This project is designed to give cyclists a protected road of their own in this segment, so they no longer have to rely on sheer willpower and the kindness of strangers motoring around in their cages to avoid becoming roadkill.

The cycle track will connect the SR 520 Trail to Overlake Village, finally giving cyclists a direct route that doesn’t involve navigating a gauntlet of speeding vehicles and poorly timed traffic lights. It’s almost like the city realized that people might choose bikes over cars if they didn’t fear for their lives. What a concept.

Overlake Village Infrastructure Planning: Patching Up the Auto-Dependent Mess

And then there’s the Overlake Village Infrastructure Planning—an initiative that sounds like it’s about fixing the glaring oversights of a car-centric past. This grand plan includes stormwater management (because, who knew, we need to deal with rain too), better transit access (since our existing bus stops on the side of highways aren’t exactly welcoming), and—wait for it—parks and green spaces. Because after all that asphalt, we could use a little green, right?

This plan is also about encouraging “transit-oriented development,” which is urban planner speak for “we messed up by spreading everything too far apart.” They’re now trying to fix it by building closer to transit hubs, a move that might finally give some residents the option to not drive everywhere—because clearly, parking lots as the centerpiece of community life didn’t turn out so well.

The Grim Reality: A Half-Hearted Attempt to Undo the Car-Centric Damage

These projects, despite their promises, can’t quite hide the fact that they’re desperately trying to undo decades of car-centric planning. The efforts to add pedestrian paths, bike lanes, and transit-oriented development feel a bit like putting a band-aid on a gaping gunshot wound, but hey, it’s better than nothing.

If you’re in the area, why not check out these efforts to bring some life back into the auto-dependent wasteland that we’ve built? Take a walk down 152nd Avenue, if you dare, or brave the cycle track. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll see the day when Redmond and Bellevue aren’t defined by their endless stretches of road, but by the vibrant, connected communities they’re trying so hard to become—one sidewalk and active transport corridor at a time!

Here are the key links to the projects mentioned in the blog post:

  1. 152nd Avenue NE Main Street Project:
  2. 156th Cycle Track Project:
  3. Overlake Village Infrastructure Planning: