City officials, transportation advocates and neighbors snipped the ribbon Wednesday, Oct. 21 to open a long-awaited pedestrian and cyclist trail along Newport Way Northwest.

Issaquah Mayor Ava Frisinger said after years of envisioning and re-envisioning the trail, it had finally come to fruition.

“Walkers will have more options,” she said.

Mountains to Sound Greenway Executive Director Cynthia Welti said the trail would go a long way to filling a major gap in the conservation group’s Interstate 90 Regional Trail System map. She encourage more commuters to see cycling as a safe and convenient transportation option.

The $1 million dollar asphalt trail is a 12-foot wide improvement that runs along the north side of the roadway and is seperated from Newport Way by a rumble strip. It is lighted from 17th Ave. Northwest to Northwest Oakcrest Drive and continues west, without lights, to Issaquah city limits along Lakemont Boulevard.

The project was a joint partnership with Talus master developer J.R. Hayes & Sons and the City of Issaquah.

Frisinger thanked the residents who originally alerted council of the need for a safe way to walk and bike to downtown Issaquah.

“We thought they’d prefer something that won’t be in the dark,” she said.

Future phases of the trail call for dedicated bike lines on both sides of the roadway and walling to shield pedestrians and cyclists from motorists.

Some of the residents the Mayor mentioned, Hart Sugarman and Summerhill HOA President Kevin Huyser, were there to personally thank her and the city for their efforts.

“We’ve wanted to get something like this done for a long, long time,” Huyser said.