Sammamish and access to freeway (Seattle, Bellevue: buying a home, neighborhoods, buying)

[toast987]

We are thinking of buying a home in Sammamish. However, we are little worried about the commute time from Sammamish to Seattle downtown since my spouse works there and has weird working hours. Also noticed that access to freeway from any of the areas we looked at is not easy, I mean there is at least 15-20 mins drive on internal roads before we can take freeway. We figured in post Covid era, we have to count in the traffic too. Are there any planned solutions for this problem? To be clear, we are only focused on the areas of sammamish that fall into LWSD school district. Thanks in advance

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by toast987

We are thinking of buying a home in Sammamish. However, we are little worried about the commute time from Sammamish to Seattle downtown since my spouse works there and has weird working hours. Also noticed that access to freeway from any of the areas we looked at is not easy, I mean there is at least 15-20 mins drive on internal roads before we can take freeway. We figured in post Covid era, we have to count in the traffic too. Are there any planned solutions for this problem? To be clear, we are only focused on the areas of sammamish that fall into LWSD school district. Thanks in advance

Planned solution?

Not that I can think of. If anything it will only get worse. Instead of expanding roads they've built more neighborhoods alongside them. And worse, they're building schools: [url]https://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/district/departments/CapProjects/Projects/elementary-16[/url]

[TheTimidBlueBars]

What are your spouse's working hours? I'd think "weird" ones would be less bad compared to rush hour.

[toast987]

Timings change. But few days a month, it can even go like 2 pm to 7 am next morning. Regular days are 7 am to 6 pm

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by toast987

We are thinking of buying a home in Sammamish. However, we are little worried about the commute time from Sammamish to Seattle downtown since my spouse works there and has weird working hours. Also noticed that access to freeway from any of the areas we looked at is not easy, I mean there is at least 15-20 mins drive on internal roads before we can take freeway. We figured in post Covid era, we have to count in the traffic too. Are there any planned solutions for this problem? To be clear, we are only focused on the areas of sammamish that fall into LWSD school district. Thanks in advance

Topography and development mean that Sammamish has always had commuting challenges, I only see it getting worse. Any other place that would work for you with easier on/off I-90 access? Maybe Newport Hills-South Bellevue. Newport High is a good school.

[toast987]

Thanks @homesinseattle. South Bellevue is our preferred choice but there isn’t any house in market in this area. It’s very competitive to get a house here too

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by toast987

Thanks @homesinseattle. South Bellevue is our preferred choice but there isn’t any house in market in this area. It’s very competitive to get a house here too

There are homes in South Bellevue, you can win, just need a good strategy.

[uniquetraveler]

Southern part of Sammamish like Klahanie area is right by I-90 but falls in ISD. Skyline High is about as good as EastLake High school though. Could be another option, if easy access to freeway is a requirement..

[Hemlock140]

I commuted from Sammamish to Bellevue via Redmond and 520 for 16 years, then until COVID have been commuting to downtown Seattle for 12 years. The key for me has been early hours. We live near Sahalee, just about midway between Issaquah/I90 and Redmond/520, each about 5 miles away. The only problem getting from home to freeways is at school start/end times. There are the school buses stopping on local streets, and the 3 high schools on 228th whose turnoffs back up the roads right before and after school.

The morning commute was not bad before 6:30, afternoon before 3pm. Later than that, there was far more cars and a few backups. Still, it's a relatively easy commute. When I last commuted January 2020 I made it from Sammamish to my office in 35 minutes in the morning, 45-50 minutes in the afternoon, using I90. On the rare post-covid day that I have gone to the office it's been a breeze, the stretch between my office and the I90 ramps near the stadiums has been a lot faster without the tourists and previous workers.

[Botev1912]

The problem with Sammamish is it's very very isolated, more isolated than Maple Valley and Snoqualmie and almost as isolated as Snohomish, so easy commute is almost never an option.