Redmond Tram

Created evening of August 29th, published morning of August 30th. This has been in the works since July 12th however when I got the idea for this map I drew it on my phone because I didn't have access to my computer. This map is a recreation of that map with some minor changes that became necessary when considering station locations. A highly realistic tram system for Redmond! This city has seen incredible transformational growth, from sleepy suburb to lively city, and it's at the point where I can now see possibilities for many different tram lines: Bear Creek Line: - Beginning at Swedish/Millennium interlined with the Willows Line and with a connection to the Marymoor Line. The intention was a closer transfer and a final stop at 188th Avenue, but I cut that short for efficiency. It is clear something is being built east of 188th Avenue between Union Hill Road and 70th Street, and this may influence the tram lines in this area including the Southeast Line. - The line has two stops on 180th before cutting through an empty lot and running through the Marymoor Village hook with stops by the Link station and community center. The alignment will require demolition of an unmarked warehouse at the exit of the hook. - The line ends at Bell/Alexan, which is located very nearby to The Bond on the Southeast Line, however there is a large terrain change between them, and multiple dense apartment buildings adjacent to both stations. It is still possible to hike between the stations. Downtown Line: - Starting at a pocket of density in the north at Red-Wood, this line builds new tracks through the hillside to connect to all of the density on 160th. - Two stops near multiple neighborhoods of apartment buildings each, this provides a walkable connection on one side whereas the other side already has the wonderful River Trail cycling connection. - A stop in front of the library, towards the back with a connection to a path directly to the river, this does cross path with the Willows Line, but there is not a direct transfer. Instead, you can transfer to a station on either side. - Urbane/Lions Gate is notably only a short walk from Trestle Station on the 2 Line, which is part of the 2 Line's extension to Kirkland. - A stop directly in front of Downtown Park! - A stop on Cleveland Avenue at Redmond Central directly next to Downtown Redmond Station on the 2 Line with connection to the Willows Line. - A stop inside Redmond Town Center before a new tram bridge over State Route 520. - Line terminates at Marymoor Park with the Marymoor Line nearby tennis courts, baseball fields, misc sports fields, and the concert venue. Marymoor Line: - Starts at Millennium, but not adjacent to Swedish. Following 135th Avenue southbound there are two stops in commercial-industrial areas. - Approaching Marymoor Village there is a stop at Campton, a separate Campton from the Southeast Line just across the huge intersection, then the line cuts through a triangle lot with little usage requiring the repurposing of the area with extra greenery/urbanism/traffic-calming, and then crosses Redmond Way to join the hook and stop at Marymoor Central. - This line leaves the hook early and goes west into Marymoor Park, terminating at Marymoor Park with the Downtown Line with an intermediate stop near the Cricket field, event center, and velodrome. Southeast Line: - Starting at Southeast Redmond at Southeast Redmond Park, the line travels directly through the Woodbridge neighborhood with a stop by the park, then turns south on 188th Avenue with a stop outside the Evans Creek neighborhood. - Turning west on 59th Court, the grades don't fully line up on this corner, the line is angled slightly to allow a regrade of the street. - Around some bends within apartment complexes and a stop at Vesta in the middle. - The line then cuts through an empty lot into the middle of Redmond Way with a stop at The Bond which has a connection to Bell/Alexan on the Bear Creek Line. The line then cuts through a car sewer for the stop at Campton adjacent to the massive intersection with connection to Campton on the Marymoor Line. Some small buildings will need to be demolished, a car shop and a shop for cars. - From Campton, the Southeast Line does a counter-clockwise loop through the hook with a dedicated one-way track up to Marymoor Central and two tracks from East Marymoor back to Campton. Willows Line: - Starting at Market/Willows by the farmers market, DigiPen, Meta, and some warehouse-commercial buildings, adjacent to the bike trail. - The stop at Peters Creek is mainly for efficient bike trail connection, it is equidistant to the nearby stations but is surrounded by warehouses. People do work at warehouses though, so this stop should still be helpful. - Over at 154th Avenue there's a stop at Westpark. Pretty boring, much of the same land use but slightly less sloppy. Then turning east on 85th Street to enter downtown is where things get good. - Bridge over the river likely needs to be replaced for a tram, so the tram stop will be placed directly over the river, providing excellent access to the River Trail and the warehouses closer to this station than Westpark. This station is also in front of City Hall, and you can connect to the Downtown Line by walking to the library. - Broadstone/Library is spaced properly but also provides a connection to the Downtown Line and you can easily walk through the walkable alley to The Edge Skate Park and Redmond Transit Center. This is the closest the trams get to Redmond Transit Center. Most buses should go to Redmond Central now. - The Luke/Chelsea Square provides access to the elementary school, apartments, and small nearby businesses, it's only slightly further from Redmond Transit Center. - After Redmond Central, the line remains on Cleveland Avenue, cuts the corners across Redmond Way, and transitions to Avondale Way. There is a stop by the grocery stores. Then, at the junction of Avondale Way and North Hill Road, the line will go under into a trench under the intersections and only rise back up after State Route 520. This is why the Willows Line does not stop near Bear Creek or in front of the big apartments there as it is still rising up and needs to be at ground level by the intersection. - Terminates at Swedish/Millennium with the Bear Creek Line and within walking distance to the Marymoor Line. This line could be extended depending on the construction in the area. - One benefit of having this line and Downtown Line exist the way they do on this map is that they provide connections between the two otherwise isolated tram systems surrounding each Link station. This allows the system to work together as one, and allows that to continue working if something were to happen to one of the lines but not both. I will mention Link 2 Line is not a tram, but it is shown on the map due to all tram lines feeding into the Link system. The 2 Line is also shown to be extended towards Kirkland. I've cut the line off just one station outside Redmond due to that being the focus of this map. Lastly, Redmond is a large city, and I don't want to only have these little areas have trams, but unfortunately no matter how I look at it I just can't find a way to justify trams in other parts of the city. Lacking density is usually not the problem, but terrain, transit connectivity, distances between density, being unable to connect the lines, etc make it difficult to find a working concept. Always open to ideas. I intend to make tweaks to this map as I see fit like I've done with my Renton Trolley (tram) map. Why did I call that one "Trolley" and this one "Tram"? Vibes. Renton gives me classic or vintage vibes, Redmond gives me modern vibes. They are still the same exact thing, although there are notably parts of certain lines in this map that would share traffic with cars unlike the Renton map, but I've excused it due to low traffic volumes and space constraints.