Going car-free in the suburbs? In Redmond, it's a lot more doable than you'd think!
Downtown Redmond fits light rail, a regional trail network, grocery stores, and some of the Eastside's best eats and drinks into a few walkable blocks, and AMLI Redmond Way sits right in the middle of it all.
Here's how to make life without a car (or with one car that mostly stays parked) work here.
A Renter's Guide to Downtown Redmond Without a Car
Living without a car in Downtown Redmond
Living without a car in Downtown Redmond got much easier over the past two years. The Downtown Redmond light rail station opened in May 2025, and in March 2026 the 2 Line's Crosslake Connection finally linked the Eastside to Seattle by train. Add a free on-demand electric shuttle, e-bikes you can unlock with your phone, and a downtown grid built around a former rail corridor turned linear park, and most of your week can happen on foot!
The payoff goes beyond the sheer commuting convenience. Skip the car and you also skip the more frequent car maintenance, the higher insurance bills, the extra gallons of gas, and the constant hunt for parking at Saturday brunch, which frees up the budget for the things you actually moved here to enjoy.
Walkable apartments in Downtown Redmond
An ideal location does most of the heavy lifting when you’re going for a car-free lifestyle, and our Downtown Redmond WA apartments are as ideal as they come! In fact, they sit right next to the Downtown Redmond light rail station, so the train station is practically your front porch.
Inside, our stunning studio to 3-bedroom apartments come with in-home laundry, quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, and air conditioning. Select homes add a mudroom or pantry, which makes a real difference when you're shopping on foot and want somewhere to stash the bulk paper towels.
Life without a car tends to mean more time close to home, and our luxury apartments with premium amenities give you plenty of reasons to stay in. There are two fitness centers, two rooftop decks (including The Perch), a music room with karaoke, two clubrooms, and the Havana Lounge, a Cuban café-inspired hangout. Over 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail puts even more within an elevator ride, and smart access means you're not juggling keys with a grocery bag in each hand!
Grocery stores and errands within walking distance in Downtown Redmond
Grocery runs are the first thing people worry about when they go car-free. Good news: Downtown Redmond has plenty of options! QFC and Trader Joe's sit just a few doors apart along Redmond Way on the west side of downtown, so you can knock out the staples and the frozen mandarin orange chicken in a single trip. Safeway is a short walk east along the same street, and H Mart on the south side of downtown is worth the stroll for Korean groceries, fresh produce, and a hot food counter that has saved more than one weeknight dinner.
For everything else, Redmond Town Center puts shops, services, and restaurants within easy walking distance. A sturdy tote is one piece of car-free gear we'd call essential, what with all the errands you’ll be running on foot.
Public transit options in Downtown Redmond
Sound Transit's 2 Line is the backbone of car-free life here. Trains run about every ten minutes, and since the Crosslake Connection opened, the line carries you from Downtown Redmond through Microsoft's campus, Bellevue, and Mercer Island, across Lake Washington into Seattle, and north all the way to Lynnwood. Downtown Seattle is about 40 minutes away, with no I-90 traffic to sit through.
For shorter hops around town, the City of Redmond runs RedLink, a free, on-demand, all-electric shuttle that serves parts of Downtown, Education Hill, and Southeast Redmond. You book through the Circuit app, rides may be shared, and the pilot program is scheduled to run through June 2027. It's a great fit for rainy days or for a bag of groceries that turned out heavier than planned.
Load an ORCA card and you're set for light rail and King County Metro buses alike, expanding your web of transit even further.
Bike-friendly routes and bike share in Downtown Redmond
Redmond calls itself the Bicycle Capital of the Northwest, and Downtown Redmond Station backs that up. It sits right where the 520 Trail, the Sammamish River Trail, and the East Lake Sammamish Trail meet, so you can ride from your door onto a regional trail network without touching a busy road.
Running through the heart of downtown, the Redmond Central Connector is a paved, landscaped trail along the old rail line, and it's part of Eastrail, the 42-mile corridor that's gradually linking Redmond to Kirkland, Bellevue, and beyond. Redmond has also added protected on-street bike lanes downtown, with more on the way!
No bike? Lime e-bikes and scooters are available throughout the city, and Lime's transit rewards program gives you credit toward a transit trip when you ride to a light rail station and park in a designated spot. If you do bring your own wheels, bike storage and an onsite bike repair shop at AMLI Redmond Way take care of the two most annoying parts of bike ownership.
Rideshare and carpool alternatives in Downtown Redmond
Even committed car-free households need a set of wheels now and then. Rideshare apps fill the gap for late-night returns from Seattle or the occasional airport run, and RedLink covers a lot of the short local trips you might otherwise call a car for.
If your commute heads somewhere the train doesn't reach, Go Redmond, the city's commute options program, can point you toward a King County Metro vanpool and other community vanpools.
Going from two cars down to one? Onsite parking and EV charging at AMLI Redmond Way make it easy to keep a single shared car for weekend trips to the mountains and leave it parked the rest of the week.
Parks and recreation within walking distance of Downtown Redmond
Downtown Park is the city's living room, with a big lawn, a splash pad, plenty of seating, and a steady calendar of community events. It also lights up beautifully in the winter! The Redmond Central Connector threads right past it, so a lunchtime walk can easily turn into a longer loop.
For a bigger outdoor fix, Marymoor Park covers more than 640 acres with a climbing wall, playgrounds, community gardens, a summer concert series, and one of the most popular off-leash dog areas in the region. You can reach it by trail or hop one stop on the 2 Line to Marymoor Village Station, which connects directly to the park's trails. Your dog will thank you. Back at home, two dog parks and a pet spa make the daily routine (and daily cleanup) just as easy!
Commuting to work from Downtown Redmond without a car
For a lot of Redmond renters, this is the big one. Microsoft's Worldwide HQ is about 10 minutes away on the light rail, which beats the 520 interchange on just about any weekday morning. Bellevue's Spring District and downtown core are a short ride further, and downtown Seattle is roughly 40 minutes door to platform.
On work-from-home days, you can skip the commute entirely. Coworking areas, a co-working studio, and private Zoom rooms give you a real place to focus without setting up shop at the kitchen table. Get a full picture of what living in Downtown Redmond WA looks like, from transit to nearby employers, by exploring more of our website!
Family-friendly activities in Downtown Redmond that don't require a car
Car-free family life works especially well at AMLI Redmond Way because so much of the fun is clustered so closely together. On warm days, pair the Downtown Park splash pad with a cone from Molly Moon's and you've got an afternoon sorted. The Redmond Library has a large kids' area and a steady lineup of free programs, all within walking distance.
From May through October, the Redmond Saturday Market sets up near Redmond Town Center with Washington-grown produce, berries, baked goods, honey, and lunch options like tamales, crepes, and shave ice. Kids love the shave ice, and parents love not looking for parking. It’s a win-win!
At home, an indoor interactive playroom, a courtyard playground, and an outdoor play area keep rainy and sunny days covered alike. Families also tend to like the schools: Redmond High School ranks #14 in the state, and Redmond Elementary is in the top 5% of schools statewide.
Your next step
Downtown Redmond is proof that a great apartment and a transit pass go together just fine. Compare all of our Redmond apartments in Seattle, browse the rest of our Seattle apartments, or learn more about luxury apartment living with AMLI. When you're ready to see it in person, contact us to set up a visit! (You can always take the train, of course.)
See you soon!
