City improves pedestrian safety with over 3,000 feet of new sidewalks

KIRKLAND, Wash. – The City is underway on three neighborhood sidewalk construction projects meant to enhance safety for residents by providing safer walking and bicycling routes to our schools. 
 
Construction started in July on the Highlands project, which blends 850 linear feet of new sidewalk with existing sidewalk along Northeast 95th Street in between 112th and 116th avenues northeast. This project provides a safer walking route to Peter Kirk Elementary School, creating a continuous pedestrian walking path along northeast 95th Street. 

Two additional projects are in progress in the North Rose Hill area, helping to establish safer walking routes to Mark Twain Elementary School. 

Located north of Mark Twain Elementary, the Northeast 104th Street project builds 1,700 linear feet of sidewalk on Northeast 104th Street in between 128th and 132nd avenues northeast. The new sidewalk connects to existing sidewalk on the south side of the street.

The third sidewalk project, located south of Mark Twain Elementary, adds 580 linear feet of sidewalk along the west side of 126th Avenue Northeast, between Northeast 90th and 95th streets. The new sidewalk will connect sections of existing sidewalk, for a fully connected sidewalk system along 126th Avenue Northeast. All three projects are slated for completion in November.

In its 2019 – 2020 Work Program(PDF, 4MB) , the Kirkland City Council prioritized the development of a “Safer Routes to School Action Plan” for each public school in Kirkland. The goal of the action plan process is to identify ways to make walking, biking and busing to school safer and more fun. 

“These projects are in alignment with City efforts to build connections that help ensure the safety of our residents,” said Council member Jon Pascal. “All three of these projects connect and extend key walkways in neighborhoods close to schools, creating a more complete system of contiguous sidewalks.”

City contractor, A-1 Landscaping and Construction, Inc., is completing all three projects. Crews will work from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with occasional extended workdays ending at 6. The contractor provides flaggers to help residents navigate the areas during construction, and maintains access for mail delivery, garbage pick-up, emergency vehicles and residents. Construction will, at times, eliminate some street parking and impact driveways. 

Do you have a suggestion on how to improve safety in your neighborhood through the addition of sidewalks, crosswalks, traffic calming devices or other safety-related improvements? The City is accepting project ideas for its Neighborhood Safety Program, which awards $350,000 per year to address pedestrian and bicycle safety issues throughout the City. Each of Kirkland’s neighborhood associations are invited to suggest projects, for which the maximum allotted budget is $50,000 per project.  

Visit our website for a complete overview of the 2020 Neighborhood Safety Program(PDF, 4MB) . 

For more information about the City’s current ongoing sidewalk projects, visit the City website at: https://www.kirklandwa.gov/Assets/Public+Works/Public+Works+PDFs/CIP/SCHOOL-WALK-ROUTE_project-update-binder.pdf(PDF, 890KB) . For questions, please contact Neighborhood Outreach Coordinator Christian Knight at cknight@kirklandwa.gov or Marius Eugenio Jr. at meugenio@kirklandwa.gov.