Issaquah: Planning for Growth
Issaquah is strategically positioned for significant future development. While maintaining its urban-suburban feel along the I-90 corridor, the city anticipates substantial transformation, particularly in Central Issaquah and Olde Town. City plans, including the Comprehensive Plan and Central Issaquah Plan, explicitly target these areas for increased residential and employment density over the next two decades to meet mandated growth targets. This future Issaquah will see a deliberate shift in land use patterns to accommodate an expanding population and job market, building upon its existing base of major employers like Costco.
Transportation in Issaquah is poised for notable changes. While currently relying on the Issaquah Transit Center and Highlands Park & Ride, served by King County Metro bus routes connecting to regional hubs, the 2025 activation of Sound Transit’s Line 2 Link light rail to Redmond will reshape commuting patterns. Although Issaquah lacks a direct light rail station, its bus network will likely be reconfigured to feed into the South Bellevue light rail station for Seattle-bound commuters, creating a new transit dependency. Addressing current gaps, such as the lack of direct south King County bus routes, will become increasingly important as the city and its employment base continue to expand regionally. Future transportation planning will need to integrate seamlessly with the evolving light rail network to maintain and improve regional connectivity.
The shift towards flexible work arrangements, accelerated by the recent pandemic, is expected to persist and will continue to influence future commuting patterns. While telework has met some initial CTR goals, the equitable distribution of these opportunities across different employment sectors will remain a key consideration in future planning. The city's largest, often tech-centric, employers are likely to maintain hybrid models, while service industries will require on-site presence. Future CTR strategies will need to account for this varied landscape of work arrangements.
Looking ahead, Issaquah’s land use and transportation objectives, as outlined in its Comprehensive Plan, Mobility Action Plan, and Climate Action Plan, will heavily influence future development. The focus on promoting mixed-use development will intensify to reduce future trip generation. Investments in enhanced public transit and active transportation infrastructure will be crucial to support a growing population and encourage alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles. Sustainable growth management will guide future development patterns to minimize transportation impacts. The Mobility Action Plan’s emphasis on a multimodal and equitable transportation system, safety, connectivity, and congestion reduction will shape future transportation investments. The ambitious targets of the Climate Action Plan – a 20% VMT reduction and a 15% increase in non-drive alone mode share by 2030 – will necessitate proactive land use and transportation policies in the coming years, favoring denser, mixed-use, and transit-oriented development.
To achieve these future-oriented objectives, Issaquah must build upon critical existing aspects while embracing key changes. Sustaining the planned multimodal transportation system and prioritizing equitable transportation investments will be vital for future inclusivity. Enhancing public transit options with increased frequency and coverage, strategically incentivizing carpooling and ridesharing, fostering the development of mixed-use areas, significantly improving non-motorized transport infrastructure, and implementing intelligent traffic management systems will be crucial steps in shaping future commuting behavior and achieving long-term goals.
The CTR program will be instrumental in realizing Issaquah’s future land use and transportation vision. By actively encouraging public transit use, expanding support for walking and biking, and disincentivizing single-occupancy vehicle trips, the program will directly contribute to the planned sustainable growth and reduced congestion in a developing Issaquah. Its focus on multimodal options and safety will align with the city’s transportation goals. Critically, the CTR program will be a key tool in achieving the future VMT and mode share targets outlined in the Climate Action Plan, guiding development towards less auto-dependent patterns. Collaboration with neighboring cities like Bellevue, Redmond, and Sammamish, and coordination with regional and state transportation plans, will be essential to address future cross-border transportation challenges, particularly along the I-90 and SR 900 corridors, and to ensure seamless regional connectivity as Issaquah evolves. Future strategies will need to proactively address the impacts of the expanding regional transportation network, including the light rail, on Issaquah’s commuting landscape.