Issaquah’s Park Board moved along a study that would improve mountain biking in the city, but not without hesitancy.

Of the Issaquah Mountain Bike Task Force’s five recommendations, it only wholly supported one – building a small skills park in the Issaquah Highlands.

On the whole, it’s still a win for mountain bikers in the city, said Paul Winterstein, a city councilmember who also worked on the report. “The outcomes that we wanted are very much still possible.”

The goal of the task force was to make a formal recommendation on whether to build the skills park and to figure out ways to improve mountain biking in the community.

So one major focus was where to connect the city to regional trails. Those possible new trail locations came under the heaviest criticism, because they either snaked through private property or cut through conservation land.

However, the discussion on connector trails is just beginning.

About a month ago, the state’s Department of Natural Resources began creating a recreation plan that would focus on connecting different trails along the Snoqualmie corridor and throughout the Raging River forest, which is just east of Tiger Mountain.

The fact that Issaquah has already begun to discuss ways to join that DNR land is exciting, Winterstein said. “This higher level of visibility is all a good thing.”

The bike report itself moved to the mayor untouched, but an attached memo discussed the merits of its major points, applauding some ideas, such as improved signage, but dismissing others, such as a new trails commission.

Mayor Ava Frisinger will now have to decide whether to pass the report onto City Council and if to change it before she does.