Issaquah council adopts Mobility Action Plan update to align with transportation element

The Issaquah City Council on Feb. 24 voted unanimously to adopt the city’s updated Mobility Action Plan, or MAP, approving Resolution No. 2025-06.

The update ties the MAP directly to the transportation element of the city’s Comprehensive Plan and emphasizes transit and transit access, safety using the Safe Systems Approach (replacing references to “Vision Zero”), and a set of strategies and actions intended to guide budgeting, programming and project delivery over the coming years. “The administration is recommending adoption of the MAP,” said Thomas Valdres, senior transportation planner, during his presentation.

Why it matters: the MAP converts policy language in the Comprehensive Plan into specific strategies, actions and resource guidance city staff will use when developing projects, regulatory work and budgets. Council and committee members described the document as an implementation-oriented “road map” to help the city meet multimodal and safety goals tied to climate and equity commitments.

Key points from the presentation and council discussion - Document purpose and linkage: Valdres explained that the MAP translates the transportation element’s policy goals into specific actions, including mode-specific strategies for walking, biking, transit and autos. He said the plan’s changes since 2021 are largely focused on transit and transit access, reflecting a two-year transit study and the transportation element adopted in December. - Terminology and equity: The plan replaces the phrase “Vision Zero” with the regionally standard Safe Systems Approach and incorporates advisory-board feedback, including Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) and Equity Board suggestions. - Climate and EV infrastructure: Councilmember DeMichele asked why the MAP does not emphasize electric-vehicle infrastructure or greenhouse-gas mitigation more. Valdres said greenhouse-gas and broader environmental actions were being addressed through the Issaquah Climate Action Plan (ICAP) and that the ICAP update and MAP would be aligned in implementation. - Cadence: The administration said the MAP will be updated on a cadence tied to the transportation element and other functional plan updates, and that further MAP updates are likely as the ICAP and other plans progress.

Council reaction and next steps Councilmembers praised staff and advisory-board engagement. “The mobility action plan now is one of my favorite plans of the city,” Councilmember Hall said, noting the plan’s role as a keystone implementation document. Councilmember Ray, chair of the Mobility and Infrastructure Committee, said the committee had reviewed the draft and supported adoption.

The motion to adopt Resolution No. 2025-06 carried unanimously, 7–0. Staff said they will correct minor scrivener errors, add a legend to a transportation functional-classification map and publish the final MAP with those changes.

What the MAP does not do tonight The MAP adoption is a policy and program-level approval; specific capital funding, project designs and implementation timelines remain subject to separate budget decisions and project approvals. Councilmembers noted funding the plan’s actions will be a future challenge and will require alignment with the budget process.