East Redmond Corridor
At a glance
Based on auto-generated captions; names, numbers and details may be misheard.
- What: the East Redmond Corridor (ERC), a planned connection of seven parks and about three miles of trail, long on the city's books and designated a higher priority in the 2023 park plan.
- Where it stands: a 2025 implementation plan estimates about 20 years and $95 million. Only three of seven parks are developed. The preliminary budget offers $680,000, not available until 2032, down from an original ask of $2.7 million (reduced to $1.4 million over the summer).
- Next: budget deliberations; the commission asked the council to increase and accelerate the funding.
Background
- Most of the land was acquired between 1970 and 1999; a master plan was completed in 2009 and the commission revived it around 2022.
- Two trail segments are near King County land and would cross a county road, so a relationship with King County is described as essential.
- Progress: volunteers and park operations have cleaned up several parks and soft trails; design of Southeast Redmond Park, part of the ERC, is underway with a commission subcommittee assisting.
Asks of the council
- Support the budget request and, if possible, increase it this cycle and in future cycles; pull the money forward from 2032.
- Commit to a multi-year strategy so planning does not stall between budget cycles.
- Help the city build a productive relationship with King County; the commission also asked for professional service money for engineering support.
Council response
- Kritzer asked whether the commission wanted the capital improvement program amount kept or increased and moved earlier; commissioner Jim Kleppe said both increased and brought forward.
- Forsythe thanked the commission for flagging the budget and did not want to kick the can down the road. Parsi and Vice President Nuevacamina pledged support; Nuevacamina called it a legacy project championed by earlier councilmembers.
Sources
Discussion time
About 7 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-13 - City Council Special Meeting | 7 |
Log
- 2026-10-13 - City Council Special Meeting — Commission presented progress and the funding gap ($680,000 offered, available 2032, versus $2.7 million originally requested); councilmembers voiced support and Kritzer asked whether to increase and accelerate the amount.
- 2026-11-05 - City Council Study Session Meeting - Council deliberations #4: staff said the original $2.7 million phase one request (Martin Park parking lot, a Parigo Park to Conrad Olsen Farm crossing, design) was pushed past 2032; the CIP shows $0 for 2027-2028 and rising investment from 2029, and the Southeast Redmond Neighborhood Park ($9 million this biennium, $12 million over six years) anchors the corridor. Parsi asked to pull money forward or use unused project contingency; the finance director and several councilmembers said contingency should not be committed to a single project now. The council left the budget as proposed and parked periodic implementation check-ins (suggested by Council President Stuart). Real property fund balance is about $1.5 million. See Mayor's Preliminary 2027-2028 Biennial Budget