Evenings on Park Lane - Summer 2022

The proposed closure of Park Lane to vehicles will impact a total of 17 parking stalls on Park Lane. One of those stalls is ADA parking. 5 of those stalls were used for Parklet/restaurant seating in 2020.

Where is Park Lane located?

Park Lane is located in Downtown Kirkland between Lake Street and 3rd Street. Known as an “American woonerf” – which loosely translates to “living street” – Park Lane is a charming thruway that invites pedestrian exploration day and night.

How should I get there?

In the spirit of the traffic alteration, we encourage you to walk, bike, carpool, or take transit. Bus routes 255, 248, 235, and 234 will bring you right to the entrance of Park Lane on 3rd Street. 

Where is the best place to park?

All city-owned parking is free on Sundays and holidays, including street parking, the Peter Kirk Municipal Garage that is located under the library, the Wester Lot on 3rd Avenue, Marina Park, the Lake & Central lot, and at City Hall. Pay parking lots are located throughout downtown, including the Voda Parking garage on Main Street at Park Lane. For more information on parking in Kirkland, visit our downtown parking information webpage. All lots can be found on our public parking map(PDF, 2MB).

What about ADA parking?

ADA parking spots are available at multiple locations downtown. See the public parking map(PDF, 2MB) for specifics. 

Where can I find public restrooms?

Public restrooms are available at Marina Park, Peter Kirk Park and in the Kirkland Library on 3rd Street. 

Evenings on Park Lane continues through 2022 per the City Council’s direction on May 4, 2021 to close Park Lane in the evenings during summer months for the 2021 and 2022 summers. The future of Evenings on Park Lane beyond summer 2022 is an item for future consideration of the City  Council.

2021 Extending Evenings on Park Lane

Approaching summer 2021, restrictions on business capacity and operations were still in place and health officials continued to recommend social distancing and outdoor rather than indoor activities (expected to continue throughout the summer). At its April 6, 2021, meeting, the Council discussed closure of Park Lane to vehicles for summer 2021 to expand outdoor capacity for businesses and patrons in the downtown core under its newly established Legislative Request Memoranda process as outlined in the Council Policies and Procedures document.  Four options were presented:

• Option 1: “Similar to last year.” Close Park Lane from early May to October only during evenings (beginning at 6 p.m.) and all day during permitted special events downtown.
• Option 2: Close Park Lane from early May through October on weekday evenings (beginning at 6 p.m.) AND full-day closures on weekends and holidays.
• Option 3: Close Park Lane all day and evening every day from early May to October.
• Option 4: No action.

At the April 16, 2021 meeting, the Council directed staff to return to Council with additional information including directing staff to conduct an extensive public outreach to gather feedback and comments from City community members and affected businesses relating to various options for Park Lane.

At the Council's May 4, 2021 meeting, staff presethe detailed results of the outreach were presented.  From this input, Council directed staff to proceed with Option 1 “Evenings on Park Lane”, closing Park Lane to vehicular traffic and parking from early May to October only during evenings and all-day during permitted special events, with the intent to maintain it for the next two years, through summer 2022.  Council also directed for the regular evening closures, the street be reopened in the evenings after the last restaurant closes. 

2020 COVID Response / Evenings on Park Lane

In response to restrictions and capacity limits mandated by WA State due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and with input from the ‘Outside the Walls’ task force, a community group formed in response to the pandemic, staff presented the CARES Act Funding Plan at the June 16, 2020 Council meeting. This included recommendations for Park Lane:

• Close the west half of Park Lane (between Main and Lake St) to be used as  streeteries or parklets, either permanently or for ‘Evenings on Park Lane’;
• Provide picnic benches and/ or tables and chairs;
• Install canopy or rain shelter;
• Create attractive entrance celebrating the public space (using bollards, banners and flags);
• Provide hand washing/ sanitizing stations and public restrooms;
• Provide assistance with getting permits from the Liquor Control Board

At the June 16, 2020 meeting, the City Council supported “Evenings on Park Lane” to close the west end of Park Lane to vehicles each evening between Lake Street and Main Street from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. seven days a week, from July 2 through November 17, 2020.  An interdepartmental team of City staff implemented various strategies to implement this, including developing an application process for temporary Sidewalk Cafés; temporary allowance for restaurants to expand outdoor seating into adjoining on-street parking stalls (i.e. “parklets”); and processes for expanded outdoor café seating or outdoor retail space.  This additional programming to allow for sidewalk cafés and parklets attracted more people to Park Lane than Summer Sundays.

Summer Sundays

Park Lane closures were first initiated in 2019 through a program called Summer Sundays on Park Lane. This pilot program began in June and continued through September. Opening Park Lane to people walking or wheeling was inspired by residents hoping to create an atmosphere where community members could gather, shop, stroll, and dine in a casual car-free environment. During Summer Sundays, Park Lane was closed to vehicles from 7:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and Kirkland guests and community members were invited to come and check it out. 

April - City Council Agenda clarifying "Car-Free Sundays on Park Lane" 

May - Summer Sundays News Release

2008 ‘Flexible Street’ Concept – Adopted February 2, 2010

In 2008, the City Council approved funds as part of the Capital Improvement Program for a study to explore and develop a corridor design for pedestrian enhancements on Park Lane between Lake Street and 3rd Street. The study was driven by considerations relating to sidewalks and infrastructure along Park Lane, as well as a number of redevelopment activities including the Kirkland Transit Center and King County’s replacement of the sanitary sewer pump station at 3^rd St and Park Lane.  The results of the 2010 Park Lane Pedestrian Corridor Enhancement Study and the public input process identified the concept of a “Flexible Street” for Park Lane to serve as a pedestrian corridor with infrastructure developed to support flexible use.

2015 Renovated Design

Park Lane was renovated and reopened in 2015 to be a pedestrian-friendly, festival space with built-in bollards to enable regular closure of the street to vehicles for community events.