Surely you would just take the train to the opening of 2-Line service across Lake Washington, right? Well, yeah, that does make some sense. But if you want to catch the ribbon cutting at Judkins Park before the first train, Cascade will be hosting a bike valet. Lime is also offering free rides with the code CROSSLAKE26.
When Judkins Park Station opens tomorrow (Saturday, March 28), it will likely join UW Station as one of the most bikable stations in the whole transit network. The I-90 Trail leads directly to the entrance of Judkins Park Station, and multiple bike routes converge on the adjacent Sam Smith and Judkins Parks. People across the region will find all kinds of new ways to combine biking and transit using this new station, and I’m excited to hear all the ways it helps open the region for multimodal travel. Also, Move Redmond has updated their excellent Station Access Map, which now covers the Eastside from Bothell to Mercer Island. You can score a physical copy if you track their table down near Mercer Island Station on opening day (Full Disclosure: My spouse Kelli Refer is the Executive Director of Move Redmond).
You’ll also want your bike so you can join Bob Svercl and friends for a group bike ride along the crosslake route that leaves Chinatown/International District Station at 11 a.m. So you should have the time to attend the ribbon cutting, ride the train to South Bellevue and back, then get your bike out of the bike valet in time to join the ride.
Or perhaps you just want your bike so you can have a flexible option for joining the No Kings march that starts at noon with a rally at Cal Anderson Park before starting a slow march around 1 p.m. I am a fan of bringing a bike to big protest events like No Kings. Walking with a bike doesn’t work well for all protest events, but I have found that it works well for a major event like No Kings that has lots of available road space for marchers. Just be courteous of others and don’t try to squeeze into crowded areas. Having a bike with you when the march ends is so nice, and it can make it possible to participate even if you have a time crunch before or after.
Even once opening day celebrations end and the Cascade bike valet closes up, there is a good amount of bike parking at Judkins Park Station. There are racks for 32 bikes, a secure bike room with capacity for 32 bikes and 4 BikeLink lockers. Mercer Island Station also has a good amount of bike parking (bike racks for 50 bikes plus a bike room for 20 and 24 bike lockers). South Bellevue Station with its connection to the I-90 Trail has technically been open for a while, but its bike room with 35 spaces will be far more useful once the train runs across the lake. You will need a BikeLink account to access the lockers and the bike room. I suggest using their mobile app instead of getting the card.
More details on the opening day festivities from Sound Transit:
This Saturday, March 28, the Crosslake Connection will open with Link light rail carrying passengers across Lake Washington for the first time. Crosslake trains will begin running at around 10 a.m. following a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The opening day celebration will start at 9 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting and street fair at Sam Smith Park, in partnership with the Northwest African American Museum. At 10 a.m., festivities begin at the new Mercer Island Station, in partnership with the Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce, as well as at nine more stations throughout the expanded Link system, until 2 p.m.
Get information about opening day activities at https://www.soundtransit.org/crosslake.
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People are encouraged to walk, roll and take transit to opening day celebrations. Shuttles from Mount Baker and South Bellevue stations to the ribbon cutting will run every 15 minutes from 7-10 a.m. Lime is offering free rides on opening day with the code CROSSLAKE26.
Bicycle parking is available at all stations. The new Judkins Park Station has racks for 36 bikes, a bike room for 32 bikes, and 4 individual BikeLink lockers available on demand. On opening day, the Cascade Bicycle Club will be providing a bike valet at Judkins Park.
The new Mercer Island Station has bike racks with capacity for 50 bikes, a bike room with capacity for 20 bikes and 24 individual BikeLink lockers, available on demand.
Service on both the 1 Line and 2 Line will run from about 5 a.m. to 12 a.m. seven days a week. Trains will run approximately every eight minutes at peak at the new stations, and between 10-15 minutes the rest of the day. Between Lynnwood City Center and International District/Chinatown stations, combined 1- and 2-Line headways will mean trains arrive every four to five minutes.