Sammamish council hears corridor study showing options to improve safety, multimodal access on Sahali Way

Sammamish City staff presented the third of three briefings on the Sahali Way corridor study Dec. 2, laying out three primary alternatives and a proposed phasing approach to improve transit, pedestrian and bicycle access along the principal arterial.

The presentation, led by the project manager Judd and staff lead Audrey, summarized work that reduced an initial list of 10 options to three packages: Alternative A (crossings and low-cost transit access), Alternative B (north-half pedestrian improvements with traditional bike lanes in some sections) and Alternative C (full corridor buildout with separated bike and pedestrian facilities). Staff described the corridor plan as the policy-level document that sets geographic limits and objectives; preliminary engineering (30% design) would follow to refine layouts, estimate costs and support grant applications.

Council members focused questions on phasing, emergency access, and cost trade-offs. Deputy Mayor Amy Lam said, "I do support the phasing. I am also in support of bike and pedestrian stress level of 2." Council member Pamela Stewart said she would "start with the bike and pedestrian level stress at 2, and then walk it back where needed," emphasizing that some segments may be too costly to fully achieve level 2 without modification. Several members noted the corridors varied character (rural north vs. urban commercial center) and asked staff to present sub-corridor goals and a scoring table that ties each element to safety, transit throughput and capital cost.

Staff described "level of traffic stress" as an industry metric that combines separation, speed and volume to predict whether bicyclists and pedestrians will feel comfortable using a facility; for a principal arterial, the staff recommendation tied a target of level 2 to achieving meaningful multimodal use. The presentation included a 20-year phasing concept that would prioritize an early roundabout at Sahali Way & NE 28th, then extend sidewalks and bike lanes into the commercial center and finish builds in rural sections as funding allows.

Council members also questioned procurement and consultant readiness. Council member Kent Treen said he had "low" comfort with the current preliminary engineering consultant doing the 30% deliverable and asked for assurances about scope and quality before proceeding. Staff confirmed that the current design consultant holds an option to perform 30% design and that any negotiated scope would return to council for approval.

Next steps: staff said the key policy decision for council is to confirm the desired pedestrian and bike level-of-traffic-stress so the team can prepare a draft corridor plan with phasing for future review and move to 30% preliminary engineering when directed. Staff said they will return in the new year with refined materials, graphics and phasing options for council feedback.