Eastside

The feds are awarding $25 million to nearly close the funding gap for a segment of Eastrail over I-90 and $5 million to advance design on the last segment of the trail in Woodinville.

The Eastside's next RapidRide isn't set to open until 2030. Pivotal decisions around how much the line will benefit riders are being made now.

Ahead of the full opening of East Link light rail, King County Metro and Sound Transit have queued up a bus restructure for the Eastside, but they have planned insufficient cross-lake service to replace the deleted Route 271. Frequencies crater in the evening, which will leave riders in the lurch.

Last week, King County celebrated the start of construction on a $37 million project to upgrade Bellevue's Wilburton Trestle and create one of the most pivotal and scenic spans of the Eastrail. The Eastside walking and biking trail will ultimately stretch 42 miles between Renton and Woodinville.

BelRed combines a nascent South Lake Union, SoDo, and the International District. Spring District Station has a South Lake Union feel with tech offices emerging from a large light industrial presence. Both have some hidden gems.

East Main, South Bellevue, and Wilburton Station are the clear laggards along the 2 Line where development activity has been sparse. A pending zoning update offers a lot of hope for Wilburton, a little for East Main, and none for South Bellevue.

Track restoration work on the remainder of the 2 Line across I-90 is 80% complete, but any additional delays are almost certain to push a grand opening into 2026.

Issaquah is set to provide incentives to build up to 800 homes under a new program intended to densify transit-rich Central Issaquah, near a future light rail station.