Everyone rejoiced when the SR 520 Bridge pedestrian and cyclist trail finally opened on the 20th of December. The trail runs 2.7 miles alongside the north side of the bridge with 11 viewpoints, and is 14 feet wide. A concrete barrier separates the trail from vehicular traffic.

Our partners at Greater Redmond TMA enlisted their team member Amy Taylor to try it out. Check out her thoughts below:

Go Redmond: Amy, tell us about the trail! When did you try it out for the first time? 

Amy: On December 31st I cycled across with my roommate to grab coffee in Seattle. We live in Kirkland. I'm a casual bicyclist and it was the first time ever that I was able to ride my bike from the Eastside to Seattle.

Go Redmond: What were your thoughts? Did you stop? Were there other people out there?

Amy: It's beautiful. We had a really lovely sunny day. The bridge was busy but there was plenty of room for all of the cyclists and pedestrians using the trail. We were treated to incredible views on both the treck out and return trip.

Go Redmond: Nice! Do you think you would choose to use the pedestrian/cyclist trail over driving to Seattle?

Amy: Absolutely! I was aprehensive about the hills on each side but found them to be totally manageable. I appreciate saving money on the tolls and even the exercise is a nice bonus. It's convienent because the bridge connects to trails on both sides.

Go Redmond: What excites you most about the trail?

Amy: Besides an easy trip to Seattle? I'm actually very excited to see how this impacts 2018's Tour de Redmond, Greater Redmond TMA's summer bicycle commute challenge. Previously, riders commuting from Seattle either had to ride all the way around the top of the lake, take the I-90 trail or put their bikes on the bus for the SR 520 Bridge leg of their trip (which is still totally okay!). Now people have an additional option and can choose the route that works best for their needs. We're really hoping to break 1,000 riders for this year's challenge and hopefully this option will help that to happen.

Go Redmond: We'd love to see 1,000 riders in the Tour de Redmond! (They can also enter all their trips on their Go Redmond calendar for chance to win additional prizes). Thanks for your time Amy!

There you have it! The SR 520 Bridge pedestrian and cyclist trail is open and makes commuting to Seattle or the Eastside via bicycle or on foot easy. You can learn more about the project from WSDOT here. 

Want to learn more about the Tour de Redmond? 2018 markes the 13th year of the community-wide bicycle commute challenge. Every summer, commuters can sign up for this FREE challenge, open to those who live and work across Redmond. Just one trip on a bicycle counts, but cyclists who log the most miles and/or trips can win additional prizes. The challenge runs the first of June through the last day of July, and is hosted by our partners at Greater Redmond TMA. Learn more here.