Kirkland Transportation Safety Action Plan

In 2024, the City of Kirkland secured federal funding from the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program to develop a Transportation Safety Action Plan - a vital step toward making our streets safer for everyone.

The Kirkland Transportation Safety Action Plan advances the City’s Vision Zero Goal to eliminate fatal and serious-injury crashes affecting roadways users, including people who walk, bike, take transit, or drive. The Transportation Safety Action Plan will use a data-driven and community-informed approach to identify collector and arterial streets with high priority safety needs, develop a new speed limit setting policy, and create a toolbox of engineering strategies that prioritizes the safety of all roadway users.

The Kirkland Transportation Safety Action Plan(PDF, 17MB) was adopted by resolution by the City Council on December 9, 2025.

Past Public Meetings

March 2024 - Transportation Commission - Staff Report(PDF, 87KB)

December 2024 - Transportation Commission - Staff Report(PDF, 89KB)

March 2025 - Transportation Commission - Staff Report(PDF, 90KB)

May 2025 - "Tea With Transportation" Open House - Event Flyer(PDF, 3MB)

May 2025 - Transportation Commission - Staff Report(PDF, 153KB)

July 2025 - City Council Study Session - Staff Report(PDF, 510KB)

July 2025 - Transportation Commission - Staff Report(PDF, 169KB)

September 2025 - Transportation Commission - Staff Report(PDF, 121KB)

October 2025 - City Council Study Session - Staff Report(PDF, 3MB)

November 2025 - City Council Meeting - Staff Report(PDF, 990KB)

December 2025 - City Council Meeting with adoption of plan via consent calendar - Staff Report(PDF, 17MB)

**Link to all past Transportation Commission meeting recordings

**Link to all past City Council meeting recordings

What's In The Plan

Intersection Near-Miss Analysis and Recommendations

The City’s consultant collected and analyzed video data from select signalized intersections with a history of severe crashes, focusing on near-miss incidents involving people walking, rolling, and bicycling. The analysis summarized behavior patterns and contributing factors, and identified engineering countermeasure recommendations to improve intersection safety.

Citywide Crash Analysis and Recommendations

Citywide crash data over the past five years was analyzed for trends, focusing on various factors such as crash severity, type, location, time of day, pedestrian and bicyclist involvement, human behavioral factors, and contributing circumstances. Patterns related to roadway design, including crash rates, severity, and contributing factors were identified and paired with recommendations for safety improvements specific to intersections and road segments.

Speed Data Collection and Analysis

Vehicle speed data was collected for approximately 90 arterial and collector roadway segments throughout Kirkland under typical weather conditions over a 48-hour period. The data has been processed for various measurements, such as the 85th percentile (defined as the speed which 85% of drivers are driving at or below), average speed, and pace. The findings were used as an input into the speed limit setting policy.

Speed Limit Setting Policy and Speed Limit Evaluation Tool

A key outcome of the plan was a new approach to setting speed limits within Kirkland utilizing the Safe System Approach. The speed limit evaluation tool provided as part of the project represents an objective means to evaluate many factors above and beyond the 85th percentile speeds on arterial streets, including land use context, crash history, driveway spacing, roadway geometry, and more, to help engineers study and set appropriate speed limits. The speed limit setting policy update outlines a process for speed limits to be evaluated on arterial streets and sets a local default speed limit of 20 mph for local streets. An implementation strategy for speed limit changes is in development and will be formally reviewed and approved by City Council. Speed limits are enforceable once appropriate signage is installed per RCW 46.61.415.

Contact

Jennifer Palmer
Transportation Engineering Supervisor