A short section at the north end of the trail has been paved and re-opened as of November 2011. You can now ride all the way from Issaquah to Redmond and beyond on this trail without having to use busy streets with narrow shoulders. I was surprised to see how wide the paved path is now. The paving is much wider than necessary, IMHO if the paving was 60% as wide as it is now, it would have been perfectly sufficient for busy weekend traffic in both directions with wheelchairs and baby strollers and bicycles in between.
The other good news is that the City of Sammamish has also almost finished construction of the new Sammamish Landing Park between the East Lake Sammamish Trail (ELST) and Lake Sammamish. There are two picnic shelters with four picnic tables, two BBQ grills, a space for a portable toilet and a short section of walking trail along a meadow. This is a beautiful new addition to the trail and the City of Sammamish should be congratulated to this achievement. That new park is worthwhile to make it a destination when you ride the ELST. See attached photos.
See
http://www.ci.sammamish.wa.us/departments/parksandrec/projects/SammamishLanding.aspx
There is no parking anywhere nearby, so the only access is by the ELST.

6.24.2011

Went out to see the ELST yesterday between engagements. Perhaps get a ride in. No go on the Redmond end. They certainly are paving. Piles of gravel, heavy equipment, trail heads fenced off, side trail into Marymoor Park closed, etc. Felt quite unwelcomed.

Drove down to the Issaquah end, which is open. Whereupon the Heavens opened. No ride. If you want to ride the ELST, start from the Issaquah end and you can get to within a mile or so of the Redmond end.

Went up I-90 to see what they have done with the Issaquah-Preston Trail. Stops short of the park in Preston, but that is a quiet road with wide shoulders. Not an issue. The lower end crosses the ELST in Issaquah, so you have the option of riding down from Redmond (when the paving is done), up the IPT to Preston, then get on the Preston-Snoqualmie. You can almost, but not quite connect the dots and get onto the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. A bit of road work here and there and you can take a long ride over the local mountains.

Ride on!

TrailBear
Who hates to get his fur wet.

http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/dnrp/newsroom/newsreleases/2011/march/0303ELS-trail.aspx

March 3, 2011
East Lake Sammamish Trail paving work requires closure through Redmond stretch
Improvements require trail closure, but several alternatives available

A highly anticipated project to upgrade and pave King County’s East Lake Sammamish Trail (ELST) will require closure of a portion of the popular recreational and commuter corridor for up to nine months beginning this spring.
King County will begin to redevelop the ELST where it runs through Redmond, from Northeast 70th Street to the Redmond-Sammamish border at 187th Street Northeast.
Because of the narrow corridor, limited trail access, topographic constraints and the extensive scope of work, the two-mile-long trail segment will be closed to all trail users during construction.
The project includes replacing the interim soft-surface trail with a wider paved trail that makes it safer and more accessible to bicyclists, skaters and other trail users. Redevelopment includes constructing a 77-stall parking lot at Northeast 70th Street.
Bid opening for construction of the estimated $3 million project is expected later this month. Funding for the work is provided by the 2008-2013, voter-approved Proposition 2 Parks Expansion Levy.
Construction is scheduled to begin in May and last until November. During that time, ELST users will have to find an alternate route around the closed stretch of trail, such as bike lanes, sidewalks along Sammamish Parkway and Redmond Way, the Bear Creek Trail, the Washington State Department of Transportation Trail and Marymoor Park.
King County purchased the 11-mile-long East Lake Sammamish rail banked corridor in 1998 for $2.9 million from the Lands Conservancy of King County and Seattle (now Cascade Land Conservancy), which had preserved the option for public ownership of the trail when it stepped up to purchase the rail corridor from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.
In 2000, the King County Council unanimously approved a plan for interim use of the trail, including fencing, controlling trail crossings and installing an interim surface. The trail was dedicated in March 2006.
The ELST follows an historic railroad route along the eastern shore of Lake Sammamish within the cities of Redmond, Sammamish and Issaquah.
Access to the northern end of the ELST is off Northeast 70th Street in Redmond, near the east side of King County’s Marymoor Park. The trail continues south through Sammamish to Issaquah where it can be accessed via Lake Sammamish State Park's boat launch or Northeast Gilman Boulevard.
The trail is also accessible at numerous locations along its route, although no formal parking areas are currently provided. The ELST intersects with the Issaquah-Preston Trail in Issaquah near I-90, which provides a paved connection east within the Mountains to Sound Greenway Corridor.
East Lake Sammamish Trail is part of King County’s nationally acclaimed regional trail system – a 175-mile-long network of trails for bicycling, hiking, walking and horseback riding. The regional trail system spans an area from Bothell to Auburn and Seattle to the Cascades. The system provides extensive opportunities for recreation and non-motorized mobility and commuting throughout King County. Once the ELST is fully developed, it will be part of a 44-mile-long regional urban trail corridor from Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood to Issaquah.
More information is available at www.kingcounty.gov/eastlakesammamishtrail.

Development of East Lake Sammamish Trail to go ahead

By JAKE LYNCH
Sammamish Reporter Editor
May 30 2010

An analysis of the environmental impacts resulting from a proposed development of the East Lake Sammamish Trail was released on Friday, the latest step in a lengthy process of building a master plan for the trail.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and King County announced the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the East Lake Sammamish Trail Master Plan, which will ultimately develop the existing 11-mile interim use trail on the east side of Lake Sammamish between the cities of Issaquah and Redmond into a permanent paved and soft-surfaced multi-use trail.

The trail will provide access to recreation, employment, and retail centers in the cities of Redmond, Sammamish, and Issaquah and complete a missing link in a 44-mile urban regional trail corridor that includes the Burke-Gilman Trail, the Sammamish River Trail and the Issaquah High Point Trail.

The final EIS compares the environmental impacts of five alternatives for the trail, one of which is to leave it how it is, and another requiring only a minor extension of the current interim trail. The other alternatives, known as the Corridor, East A, and East B alternatives, call for more significant construction, including asphalt paving, new restroom and parking facilities, and bollards at trail crossings.

According to the EIS, construction of a more developed trail would have adverse impacts of more than 1 acre of wetland, and the removal of vegetation along streambanks.

With the close proximity of Lake Sammamish, concerns have been raised about the impact of the development on water quality, during, and after, construction.

The project would increase the amount of impervious surface area along the trail corridor by more than 18 acres. However, according to the report’s authors, “with the application of best management practices, and stream and wetland mitigation, the build alternatives should not have major negative effects on aquatic resources, including streams, wetlands, or fish.”

While the impacts of the trail options are only now being released, some kind of construction along the trail is a done deal.

During a meeting with City of Sammamish officials on Tuesday, King County Executive Dow Constantine said that construction of the Redmond end of the trail, heading south, would begin in 2011, dependent on funding.

The trail would stop just 300 feet north of the proposed Sammamish Landing Park. Councilor Mark Cross said it would be very helpful if the county could extend paving of the trail a little further south, to provide a connection between the Landing Park and Marymoor Park. Constantine replied that he would look into it.

The Final EIS for the Master Plan Trail is now available for public review at the Sammamish and Issaquah public libraries.

The document is also available at www.kingcounty.gov/eastlakesammamishtrail.

Electronic (on CD-ROM) or paper copies may also be obtained by contacting King County Department of Executive Services at 206-296-1822.

The draft EIS for this project was issued for public review on October 20, 2006. In response to public comments on the draft EIS, revisions were made to the final EIS. The final EIS will be available for 30 days.

Sammamish Reporter Editor Jake Lynch can be reached at editor@sammamish-reporter.com.

Still gravel for now although it looks like they are starting on paving, beginning at the north end

So, it has been 3+ years since the last review.

Is it paved or Gravel?

Im going to go out on a limb and say the average home price along the trail is not $5 million.

"This trail is finally open after numerous years of delay. The local homeowners fought in the courts and lost every battle. I can see why. The trail goes through what has to be one of the Seattle area's richest neighborhoods. Nearly the entire trail is surrounded on both sides by $5 million houses and $1 million gardens. It is a gorgeous trail. Most of the trail is fenced on both sides so you can't possibly trespass. I guess the homeowners bought the land at ""railroad-through-the-yard"" prices and then built their ultra-mansions with the expectation that no bike trail would ever be built. Well, it has been built, it is beautiful, and everyone should get out and see it. Surface is gravel right now and will be paved in the future. Good for hybrid and sturdier bikes; horses not allowed."