Traffic, Transit Studies Hot Topics in Rapidly Growing Issaquah

ISSAQUAH, WA-A year and a half ago the City of Issaquah conducted a traffic study to determine just how bad the situation was within its boundaries. It concluded that the city’s street infrastructure was so inadequate it contained nine failure points—three of which were on streets yet to be built. As a result, traffic concurrencies for new development are virtually non-existent, and the area is struggling with ways to deal with traffic flow.

Issaquah’s latest traffic study is set for release sometime within the next few weeks. Preliminary results imply that growth between the years 2000 and 2015 will be so extensive as to consume most the new development opportunity within the submarket within that timeframe.

Looking forward for solutions and alternatives, the city’s new report preliminarily predicts the construction of State Route 18 to a four-lane configuration between Hobart Road and Interstate 90—without a new bypass—would reduce traffic within the city by up to 10%. With a bypass, it estimates that the significant congestion on the main thoroughfares of Newport and Front Streets could fall by as much as 51%.