Issaquah looks to $50M bond to help pay for roundabouts

The city of Issaquah says a boom in their population means they need to improve their roads and start installing roundabouts.

City officials say Newport Way Northwest was never meant to handle heavier urban traffic, but now they have to do something about it.

They’re looking for voters to approve a roundabout measure.

The city is asking for voters in Issaquah to approve a $50 million transportation bond on the November ballot.

It would be paid by a property tax that would cost the owner of a home worth $500,000 about $165 a year over 25 years.

Officials say they need to put in three roundabouts on a half mile stretch of Newport Way.

They say traffic has gotten heavy, and roundabouts, they argue, handle loads of traffic without impeding flow.

The city says they also might be able to reduce the cost if a builder there pays for at least one of the roundabouts in lieu of paying for traffic mitigation fees.

Cox Media Group