All eyes were on Redmond this past weekend as we celebrated the opening of two brand-new 2 Line stations. This milestone marks the first of many exciting ST3 projects to come and serves as a powerful reminder of what’s possible when communities come together to invest in bold, sustainable transportation. The energy, excitement, and pride on display made it clear: the Eastside is ready to ride.
Hello, Redmond! Let's start with a Community Celebration
At Downtown Redmond Station, our partners and Move Redmond created a lively and welcoming atmosphere, guiding riders along the Central Connector Trail from the station to the park. The trail was lined with local vendors, live music, great food, and family-friendly activities that brought the community together. At Marymoor Village Station, the OneRedmond Foundation showcased an incredible lineup of local performers, community booths, touch-a-truck experiences, food trucks, commemorative giveaways, and more. If you stopped by, you likely experienced the unique and thoughtful ways our partners helped make the celebration truly memorable.
Microsoft Presents... Fun Times!
What good is a party if nobody comes? Microsoft made sure we wouldn’t have to answer that question by providing free shuttle service from Redmond Technology and Marymoor Village Stations to the event starting at 9:00 A.M. Once the event was underway, they had claw machines with scintillating prizes at both of the two new stations and even offered family-friendly activities and complementary food and beverage at DOTE, the coffee shop at Redmond Technology Station, for people to fuel up and recharge.
Commemorative Cards
Microsoft also provided over 1500 commemorative cards, loaded with a regional day pass so that event goers could travel freely and without worry on the 10th and leave for home with a treasured item. Redmond Town Center, along with other contributions, also provided 500 commemorative cards with the same regional day pass. Combined, these two organizations provided over 2000 cards to attendees.
If you stopped by the Redmond Town Center table, then you may have left with more than just an ORCA card as well. They were passing out tote bags full of goodies from their businesses including coupons, swag and more!
Programmatic Support
Safety Partner: Kaiser Permanente
Safety first! Kaiser Permanente stepped up to be the exclusive safety partner for the Downtown Redmond Link Opening Event. Not only did they provide branded first aid kits, but they also pulled up in style to Downtown Redmond Station on opening day with their iconic farmer’s market cart full of swag and giveaways for folks to take home.
Bikes Partner: Lime
Fittingly, our exclusive Bikes Partner, Lime, was spotted passing out free helmets so that people could ride to and from the new light rail stations safely. They also hosted demo rides at Signals parks so that riders could get acquainted with their bikes and scooters and learn how to responsibly ride.
STart Partner: Meta
Meta supported the Sound Transit Art Program (STart) and helped get the word out about the incredible artists who worked on pieces for the new stations. STart features artworks by nationally known artists as well as emerging public artists. and their work represents a diverse range of style, scale and perspective that creates welcoming and engaging places. As the exclusive STart partner, they also supported the post community event pechakucha style meet and greet with the artists themselves.
Healthy riders are happy riders
UW Medicine showed up in full support, bringing their health-focused mission straight to the celebration. Their booth featured wellness-themed giveaways, helpful health resources, and engaging swag that encouraged attendees to prioritize their well-being while enjoying the festivities. Their presence was a great reminder that investing in public transit is also an investment in healthier, more connected communities.
Can you feel the energy?
Puget Sound Energy lived up to their name at the Downtown Redmond Link Extension opening event—bringing the energy and then some. Their team helped power the celebration with an engaging booth, giveaways, and friendly faces that kept the good vibes going all day long. As a longtime community partner, PSE’s presence reminded us that reliable, local energy is part of what keeps our region moving forward.
Project Partners
Our On-Board partner, Stacy Witbeck, helped keep event goers refreshed all day with ice cold drinks and activities. Not only were they a major sponsor of this event, but they were also the managing joint venture partner responsible for this design-build project for a 3.4-mile extension of Sound Transit's light rail system.
Hatch’s team was out in full force wearing custom Downtown Redmond swag that they created and passing out informational material about the project.
Parametrix engaged attendees with information about the project and commemorative giveaways.
Aside from knowing how to design a light rail station or two, Jacobs also knows how to party! Their carnival style games were a huge hit and their family-friendly giveaways were popular for all ages.
You may have seen a WSP staff member or two wearing custom Downtown Redmond Link T-shirts that they created and passing out mass transit themed coloring kits.
Discover. Share. Win!
Our partners also stepped up to contribute incredible prizes for our Discover. Share. Win! activity that took place on opening day. We invited passengers to share their experience on social media to be entered into the contest.
If you entered, sit tight; winners will be announced no later than May 15th.
The Seattle Storm provided a swag bag with autographed photos, memorabilia and more as well as four Premium Tickets to a game. Blazing Bagels provided three, $100 gift cards. Redmond Town Center provided five, $100 gift cards. Microsoft provided two, Xbox Ones with a 3 month subscription to Game Pass. Marymoor Live provided two tickets to any show at their summer concert series. HNTB provided four, $250 gift cards to Edge and Spoke. In total, Sound Transit gave away 16 prizes provided by our partners for this activity.
Additional Sponsors
Siemens, Puget Sound Energy, Kuney and EvergreenHealth were all proud partners of the Downtown Redmond Link Extension opening event.
All of these organizations stepped up to sponsor the opening, ensuring it was a memorable day for everybody who attended.
