Traffic Survey: What Happens Next?
 Take the city's Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) survey here.
In early July, the City of Issaquah celebrated the completion of its first ITS project. Now, the city is asking for the public’s feedback on what should happen next.
In November 2004, Issaquah voters approved a $3.63 million bond to pay for the system, which includes upgraded traffic signals (including the ability to remotely access the signals), a Traffic Management Center, 19 new traffic cameras and four variable message signs, among other improvements.
The ITS enables the city to monitor and manage traffic conditions in real-time and respond more quickly and efficiently to signal malfunctions and blocking incidents. In addition, along the primary road corridors where Issaquah’s traffic signals were upgraded, the city has seen an average 28 percent improvement to travel times during peak weekday hours.
While voters approved a $3.63 million bond for the ITS, the City of Issaquah saved $1.89 million by receiving both state and federal grants after the election. The city is now soliciting the public’s opinion on whether the remaining funds should be used to further enhance the ITS, such as adding a traffic flow map and real-time images from the traffic cameras on the city’s Web site.
In turn, the city will host open houses to collect the public’s feedback from 6-8 p.m. on the following dates:
- Tuesday, Aug. 26 -- Council Chambers in City Hall South, 135 E. Sunset Way
- Thursday, Sept. 4 -- Council Chambers in City Hall South, 135 E. Sunset Way
- Thursday, Sept. 18 -- Council Chambers in City Hall South, 135 E. Sunset Way
- Thursday, Oct. 2 -- Eagle Room in Issaquah City Hall, 130 E Sunset Way
Thanks to the first ITS project, travel times were improved without expanding or building more roads, but instead maximizing the efficiency of Issaquah’s current infrastructure.
For example, the time it takes to travel from Newport Way Northwest to East Lake Sammamish Parkway (via state Route 900, Southeast 56th Street and Northwest Sammamish Road) in the westbound/southbound direction has improved by 30 percent during the morning commute. In the reverse direction during the evening hours, the travel times have improved 38 percent.
The system also offers other benefits – emergency responders have already relied on the system to receive real-time information on traffic accidents and other incidents.
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