Newport Way - Maple to Sunset

Map Newport

Overview

Issaquah is designing improvements to Newport Way NW from NW Maple Street to W Sunset Way to enhance multi-modal travel, traffic operations and safety for all users. 

Newport Way NW is one of the City’s busiest streets and is a key connection into Central Issaquah. Improvements on this corridor will make it easier for residents to get to schools, Issaquah Transit Center, public parks, community services, retail/commercial areas and regional connections - such as the Green Necklace and Mountains to Sound Greenway Trail.

Final Concept

The final Concept Cross Section strikes a balance to meet the needs of all users in the corridor. It includes –

  • Continuous sidewalks on both sides of the street 
  • Continuous separated bike lanes on both sides of the street 
  • A second southbound vehicle travel lane from NW Maple Street to south of NW Holly Street 
  • Three roundabouts at NW Juniper Street, NW Holly Street, and NW Dogwood Street
  • Illumination upgrades, bringing the corridor to lighting standards 
  • Landscaping elements to enhance the corridor
Newport_Way_Section_1
Newport Sections

The final design reflects changes based on residents’ concerns with previous designs and has eliminated the center median from the design. The elimination of the center median and other modifications also addressed other concerns with previous designs by:

  • Providing full access to most properties
  • Reducing property impacts with a narrower cross section
  • Improving emergency vehicle access
  • Facilitating easier maintenance and operations
  • Reducing project cost by nearly $6 million (from previous cost estimate)

We conducted a survey and open house over the summer of 2022 and received feedback from residents about the project. This input will help staff with the next steps of this project.

  1. Project History Overview

The City of Issaquah has recognized the need for improvements on the one-mile-long Newport Way from NW Maple Street to W Sunset Way since City staff began analyzing the corridor in 2009. 

Currently, Newport Way is one lane in each direction with narrow shoulders and sidewalk. This Newport Way corridor project is intended to be a multi-modal improvement project providing improvements for vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists and transit access. These improvements are vital to the community as it will increase safety and improve non-motorized connectivity by providing safe walking and biking facilities to many local destinations, such as schools, public parks, retail/commercial centers, and regional connectivity to Mountains to Sound Greenway and the Green Necklace.

Since 2009, new policies have been developed and the solutions to meet the needs of all users have evolved, resulting in the evaluation of several different corridor concepts.

  1. 2011 Concept
  1. 2012 Central Issaquah Plan
  1. 2018 Concept

Project Funding

The City was awarded approximately $3 million in federal funds for the design of this project. However, the right of way acquisition and construction for this project is currently unfunded. In addition to the traffic impact fees that can be utilized for project funding, the City has been diligent about identifying potential grants including:

  • Federal funds from the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC)
  • State funds for non-motorized improvements
  • Safe Route to Schools funding, and 
  • Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) grants

Building this project will take a thoughtful approach to minimize costs and still meet the project goals.

Timeline

  • June 2022: Online Community Survey
  • July 2022: Community Check-In Virtual Open House
  • Sept. 2022: City Council reviews the design concept
  • Jan. 2023: City kicks off engineering design of new concept 
  • TBD: Construction (pending funding)

Due to the nature of this project, it is expected that the corridor will be constructed in phases as funding is secured. The complete funding package is expected to be a combination of city funds as well as state and federal grant funds. 

Stay Connected

To stay connected on this project, subscribe to the Newport neighborhood category in the City’s Notify Me tool.