East Redmond Corridor Master PlanIn the 1970s, the City of Redmond began acquiring a collection of properties along the Bear and Evans Creek valleys, straddling the boundaries of Redmond and unincorporated King County. Today the East Redmond Corridor (ERC) Master Plan envisions these seven properties as a unified system of parks and trails to meet the city’s current and future recreational needs, establish buffers between the increasingly dense city and rural edges, restore wetland habitats along the salmon-bearing creeks and make connections to existing regional trails.

Downtown Redmond

King County

The Berger Partnership led the development of a master plan providing an overarching vision for the corridor, site plans for five undeveloped park properties, and a plan update for one of two existing parks. The adoption of the master plan reframes the city’s goals from a series of individual parks connected by a trail, to a vision of a larger open space and habitat corridor with seven unique yet complimentary park experiences.

Arthur Johnson Park

Martin Park

Conrad Olsen Farm

West Perrigo

Farrel McWhirter

Juel Park

Perrigo Park

The East Redmond parks will become a trail corridor that links into a series of three other regional trails and then onto the region’s broader trails system.

Arthur Johnson Park

Martin Park

Conrad Olsen FarmWest Perrigo

Farrel McWhirter

Juel Park

Perrigo Park

To East Sammamish Trail

Bear Creek TrailTo Sammamish River Trail

PSE TrailTo Union Hill and Education Hill

Avondale Road Bike Lanes

Key Project InfluencesKey project influences included the corridor’s rich history; the once neglected but now valued creeks; aggressive growth impacting the city; and the development of the rural hills to the east (including the traffic created by major highways that cross or parallel the corridor).

Corridor-Wide ConceptsThe parks are unified by corridor-wide concepts and design elements applied to many of the sites as well as an interconnecting trail system. Collectively, the elements define the character of the corridor and create a unique and recognizable identity.

Corridor-Wide Concepts are:- Historical Engagement- Character and Site Elements- Trails- Environmental Engagement - Plant Collection

Conrad Olsen Barn

Historical EngagementFundamental goals of the master plan preserve and celebrate the history of the corridor. Most notable are the existing historic structures and the stories they tell of the settlement of Redmond. Each park bears the name of settlers and property owners who shaped the corridor. The harvesting of natural resources, homesteaders clearing the land for agriculture, and the properties’ transition to city parks are rich stories to be told by the buildings and land of the East Redmond Corridor.

Red Brick Road

Barn at Martin Park

Conrad Olsen Farm and Novelty Hill

Juel Farm Building

McWhirter Farm

Character and Site ElementsA corridor-wide approach to character and site elements reinforces the connections between sites while still highlighting unique elements at each park. The corridor’s history of agriculture, open pasture, and simple yet historic architecture can become the inspiration for common design elements—a thread that weaves its way through the corridor. Corridor-wide opportunities include visual openness, lawn, meadows and pastures, fences, park structures, and signs and intuitive wayfinding.

TrailsEssential to the success of the corridor is the experience of moving through it. The trails are a park experience unto themselves. Trails will fulfill the intent of the corridor plan and influence the quality of the visitor’s experience. A variety of trail needs was identified that resulted in the establishment of a hierarchy of four planned trail types. Among the considerations in establishing the trails system for the ERC are environmental issues (construction and water quality impacts); intended use (walking, running, biking, and equestrian); intensity and frequency of use; and accessibility.

Primary Trails Secondary Trails

Wetland/Spur Trails Equestrian Trails

Secondary TrailsPrimary Trails

Wetland/Spur TrailsEquestrian Trails

Environmental EngagementForests, meadows, creeks, wetlands, and riparian lands make up much of the corridor. Environmental riches are enhanced and celebrated through meaningful interpretive and intuitive learning discoveries. Each park has an anchor environmental feature—an opportunity for dramatic experiences to discover the environment from unique vantages while becoming iconic elements of the park system. Graphics and interactive, artful elements encourage thoughtful observation of environmental features and the breadth of natural processes.

Discovery TrailCreek’s Eye View

Forest Canopy Tower

Bridge OverlookEnvironmental Learning Center

Salmon Prow

* Wetland Oval

* Character image

PlantingThe rich vegetation of the Bear and Evans Creek ecosystem provides significant areas of native forest and riparian plantings. It is also recognized that the East Redmond Corridor is a landscape altered for farmland and modern day uses. The master plan strongly recommends the establishment of a plant collection throughout the corridor that recognizes natives in environmentally sensitive areas and allows a showplace for a diverse collection of plants to provide year-round interest and interpretive opportunities.

A variety of experiences throughout the corridor created by deliberate planting palettes will unify the corridor and strengthen its identity by creating another layer of interest. A few such features may include native landscapes, ornamental/variety collections, tree groves, hedgerows, and seasonal plantings.

Filbert Orchard

Grove of Ancients

Winter Garden

Coniferous ForestHarvest GardenForested Wetland

Rhododendron Glen

Individually, the parks provide a differing intensity of experiences ranging from passive habitat to active programmed recreation.

Arthur Johnson & Martin ParksAs the southernmost parks, they serve as a primary trailhead to the corridor. Arthur Johnson maintains its natural character while Martin Park and its historic barn become a “Farmyard for the Arts,” hosting multipurpose facilities with a cultural arts focus.

NorthSouth

Play Meadow

Creek Overview

Discovery Trail

Rhododendron Glen

Spine TrailSpine Trail

Arts FarmyardArts Farmyard

Filbert OrchardFilbert Orchard Martin Park

Arthur Johnson Park

Evans Creek Connector & West Perrigo ParkAlong the trail connecting Martin Park to Perrigo Park are the extensive riparian lowlands of West Perrigo, which maintains its natural quality functions. A series of wetland spur trails with environmental interpretive signage and discovery elements, such as the historic rock pile, will provide limited access through the area. At the center is the Canopy Tower, which will give visitors a unique perspective above the forested wetland floor.

Canopy Tower

Grove of Ancients

Relocated Evans Creek

Perrigo Park

Restored Creek

Winter Garden

Hedgerows

Farmstead Rock Pile

Conrad Olsen Park

Canopy Tower

Rock Pile

Winter Garden

Riparian Discovery Walk

Conrad Olsen Farm Conrad Olsen Farm preserves its historic farmstead as the heart of an Environmental Learning Center operated by Redmond’s Natural Resources Division, advocating environmental stewardship through education. Native discovery gardens enhance ecological function and educational activities, teaching students and passersby about Bear Creek’s healing riparian corridor.

Environmental Classrooms

Pond with Learning Opportunities

Spine Trail Discovery Barn

Oxbow Overlook

Farrel McWhirter ParkAlready a great park, Farrel McWhirter’s existing character and function as a domesticated animal farmstead is to be preserved and enhanced with new access, improved building layout, and enhanced equestrian facilities. The west meadow and damaged Mackey Creek were added to the master plan and surrounded by emergent wetlands that reduce flooding and subsequent siltation, restoring the creek to a salmon-friendly, low-flow channel.

Wetland Meadow

Bridge Overlook

Restored Mackey Creek

New Farm Access

Enhanced Farmyard

Education Building

Spine Trail

EquestrianArena

Event Meadow

Juel ParkThe corridor’s northern trailhead and the most programmed of the four parks, Juel Park is designed to maintain the site’s rural feel and visual openness. There are two distinct zones of Juel Park. To the north are the programmed facilities, directly accessed by a significant trailhead parking area. To the south, the park connects to the rest of the corridor under a large stand of mature forested wetlands.

Juel Park Perspective

Spine Trail

Sports Meadow

Harvest Garden

Heritage House

People Pasture

Environmental Play Salmon Cabin & Prow

Wetland Prow

Wetland Loop

Martin

Moving ForwardJust as the ongoing acquisition of the corridor properties has taken decades, so too will the implementation of the master plan. While some parks and pieces of trails exist, full build out of the master plan will take years. In addition to corridor and park designs, the master plan includes environmental permitting strategies and costs and phasing strategies to move development forward and guide investments.

Arthur Johnson

West Perrigo

If Nothing ElseRecognizing costs to be the limiting factor to implementing future park improvements, the master plan stresses the great riches and opportunities of all the sites in their existing conditions. While full phasing and build out may be a long-term goal, the master plan defines simple operational steps and minimal investments that can be made in the near term to better serve the public and improve the corridor’s ecological function. The collection of properties and the corridor as it is now are already a legacy for the future.

Juel

Conrad Olsen

Farrel McWhirter

The envisioned parkland corridor can be enjoyed as a one-day excursion on foot, bike, or horse, or alternately, as year-round visits to any one of the individual parks, where opportunities for exercise, play and endless discovery abound.