Despite initial hesitation from some council members, the Issaquah City Council voted at the Aug. 1 meeting to partner with King County in conducting a traffic study on Issaquah-Hobart Road.

The study will analyze the traffic congestion on Issaquah-Hobart Road and Front Street between State Route 18 and Interstate 90, and would then make recommendations for improvements. A final cost for the study has not yet been determined, according to Public Works Engineering Director Sheldon Lynne, but King County has agreed to fund up to half of $175,000.

Lynne said that between 30,000 and 35,000 vehicles travel this section of the road, which runs right through downtown Issaquah, every day.

“Congestion on Front Street is caused by regional drive-through traffic using Issaquah-Hobart Road,” Councilmember Paul Winterstein said. “A fix for this has been needed for some long time.”

“I see this study as critically important and a great first step in hopefully solving some of the congestion,” Councilmember Mariah Bettise said.

Both council members noted that this study would help Issaquah to fulfill the promises made in the Regional Agenda, adopted by the City Council at the May 16 meeting.

However, multiple council members expressed concern over the wording of the agenda bill and the implications for the future of traffic in an expanding community.

Rather than studying Issaquah-Hobart Road as a road for at least 30,000 vehicles per day — a number likely to expand in the next few years — some council members wanted to focus on bringing down the number of cars already using the road.

“Do we do [the study] with the intent to deal with the 30,000 [vehicles] on there now or a higher number, or do we look at a broken system and say this link really should function this way and we don’t ever have to accomodate 30,000 vehicles?” Councilmember Mary Lou Pauly asked Lynne.

Lynne responded that the study would be “starting with the volumes that we have today.”

“We forever confirm that the number of cars on Issaquah-Hobart Road is OK and we start with what we have today and then we plan for more,” Council President Stacy Goodman said. “If that’s the approach, that’s not the right approach.”

Council members also felt that going forward with the study would mean that Issaquah was taking the entire responsiblity of fixing a regional problem — and subsequently allowing other regional roads outside of Issaquah to go on unfixed. Pauly said that a lack of improvements for other roads in the region would only increase the congestion in downtown Issaquah.

“We’re continuing to assist pass-through traffic because nobody else is bothering to invest in the other options …turning Issaquah-Hobart Way into a regional pass-through route forever,” Pauly said. “I’m concerned about that. What we’re doing is taking our problem and putting it in forever.”

There was also apprehension over the council’s role in the study, as the agenda bill did not mention the study’s results coming back to the council for review.

City Administrator Bob Harrison said that taking “the scope of that type of study back to the council would be irregular.”

“We are in an irregular circumstance,” Goodman told him.

“It is important to … have council have another touch,” Bettise added.

All in all, though, the council members agreed that the traffic study would make some headway in solving one of Issaquah’s biggest problems, congestion, and passed the motion unanimously.

“I think what we’re looking at … is money well spent,” Councilmember Eileen Barber said.