Below are a few highlights from the City Council's Tuesday, June 4 regular business meeting:
June proclaimed Pride Month in Kirkland!
In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the City of Kirkland proclaimed June 2019 as “Pride Month” in Kirkland, Washington, to celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender members of our community, and as an affirmation of the City’s commitment to protect and serve everyone who resides in, works in, or visits Kirkland without discrimination, as well as its belief in the dignity, equality and constitutional and civil rights of all people. PFLAG Bellevue/Eastside accepted the City's proclamation and presented the City with a pride flag that will be proudly flown at Marina Park. The flag at Marina Park will be in addition to the flag being flown at City Hall.
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 City Council still open to Bike Share pilot, but will not pursue scooters at this time
The City Council received an update on bike share during their meeting on June 4. Earlier this spring the City Council approved the establishment of a bike share pilot program for the term of one-year. City staff then issued a request for proposals from bike share companies, but received no proposals by the deadline. City staff reached out to known bike share companies to determine why this occurred, and they discovered that the market for bike share has shifted drastically in a short time. For example, Lime Bike told the City it was shifting its business model to focus more on scooters. Other companies such as Lyft and Uber expressed their desire to expand into Kirkland only after launching/expanding their operations in other parts of the Puget Sound such as Seattle or Bellevue.
During the discussion City staff also shared current state and local requirements around electric scooters, as well as lessons learned from other municipalities that have allowed scooters. Positive factors reported by other cities included the "fun factor" and users replacing car trips with scooter trips. Some of the potential negative factors included injury to riders, the inability to hand signal and the lack of durability of the scooters. More information on the staff presentation can be found at: http://bit.ly/2MtzBMI.
The Council directed staff to continue to remain open to the prospect of proposals from bike share companies. Council directed staff to not pursue scooters at this time.
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City Council Recognizes Retiring Deputy City Manager Marilynne Beard
During their meeting City Councilmembers recognized the vast contributions of retiring Deputy City Manager Marilynne Beard. She has worked in local government for over 38 years and at the City of Kirkland for 31 years where she served as Director of Finance & Administration prior to her move to the City Manager’s Office in 2006. Marilynne graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts in Education and a Master of Science in Public Administration. In addition to her job with Kirkland, Marilynne is a volunteer mediator for the Bellevue Neighborhood Mediation Program, a public involvement practitioner and a group facilitator. Marilynne is the past President of the Washington City/County Management Association (WCCMA) Board, is an ICMA accredited manager, and received the WCCMA Assistant Excellence in Leadership Award in 2012. Please join us in thanking Marilynne for her service and wishing her a happy retirement.
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Juanita Beach will be closed starting this afternoon, June 5, and through the weekend due to high levels of E. Coli concentrations in Lake Washington.
Crews from the King County Water and Land Resources Division tested the water earlier this week and found that the levels of E. Coli on the eastern shore of the beach exceeded the thresholds for closure. Crews that performed the testing noted a large number of waterfowl in this area, which may have contributed to the elevated levels of E. Coli. King County crews will sample the beach multiple times tomorrow, June 6, and again next Monday, June 10. Per King County protocol, the beach will remain closed for a minimum of three days. The beach at Juanita Beach Park will reopen when E. Coli levels return to a safe range.
For more information, visit the King County website and search for Swim Beach Monitoring Program.
Updates about Juanita Beach Park will be posted to the City’s News Room webpage.
Join us at a Connections Workshop on Saturday, June 15 from 9 to 11 a.m. to help guide the City's vision for a resilient, connected transportation network. The Connections Workshop will focus on the creation of a Citywide Connections Map and the development of Safer Routes to School Action Plans for all Lake Washington School District schools in Kirkland.
Citywide Transportation Connections
For decades, the City of Kirkland has created new residential streets and pedestrian pathways to connect areas that were isolated from the City’s traffic grid and pathway network by cul-de-sacs and dead-ends.
The City’s key criteria when identifying possible street or pathway connections includes the benefit to fire and police response times, creating multiple route options for vehicles, seeking safer routes to schools for students and their families, and reducing congestion from developments that increase the amount of people living in a neighborhood.
Kirkland’s practice has been to create these connections one development at a time — first by identifying the essential connection and then waiting for private development to build it. One of the challenges with identifying them one at a time, however, is that neighborhoods might not know if a connection is planned before the City or a developer starts to build one. The City has also included connections as part of the neighborhood planning process, however not all the neighborhood plans have been updated with these connections. As a result, the City Council directed staff to create a single, city-wide transportation connections map that shows all the planned street and pathway connections, and to create the map in consultation with Kirkland’s residents, businesses, and other stakeholders. The final result will be a transportation network that improves access for firefighters and police officers, traffic flow for those driving or bicycling throughout Kirkland, and community connectivity for those on foot or with mobility assistance devices. The final map will be included in Kirkland’s 2019 update of its Comprehensive Plan.
More information can be found on the Citywide Connections page on the City website. Please note that the citywide connections map provided on the City website is a draft and will evolve as stakeholder feedback is collected. Online comments can also be provided.
Safer Routes To Schools
The City recognizes that walking, biking, and riding the bus to school not only benefits children’s physical and social health, it also improves traffic circulation and safety in and around schools.
During the last 10 years, Lake Washington School District enrollments are up 26%, and projections suggest that these trends will continue to increase, with an additional 2,000 students expected by 2022. Due to this regional growth, more traffic is converging on schools at arrival and pick-up times. This leads to poor traffic circulation, congestion, inadequate parking and often unsafe conditions.
To address these issues, the City Council adopted the development of a “Safer Routes to School Action Plan” for each public elementary, middle, and high school in Kirkland as a part of the City’s 2019-2020 Work Program. The City Manager directed staff to work in partnership with the Lake Washington School District, law enforcement, design professionals, students, parents and neighborhoods to identify key steps to make walking, biking and riding the bus to school safer, more convenient and fun. We need your input on these Action Plans.
Join Kirkland Police officers next Wednesday, June 12 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Zoka Coffee for a cup of joe and some conversation. Coffee with a Cop is an opportunity for community members to meet officers, ask questions, voice concerns, and make suggestions in a casual environment.
The monthly event is part of the Kirkland Police Department's larger focus on Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS). COPPS is a policing philosophy that promotes and supports organizational strategies to address the causes and reduce the fear of crime and social disorder through problem-solving tactics and community-police partnerships. Community policing brings police and citizens together to prevent crime and solve neighborhood problems.
Questions about the event can be addressed to Neighborhood Resource Officer Deana Lansing at 425-587-3451 or dlansing@kirklandwa.gov.
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State of the City with Mayor Penny Sweet
City Hall, 123 5th Ave, Kirkland
Thursday, June 13, 7-9 p.m.
Community members will have the opportunity to hear about the latest updates on the City Council’s Work Program for 2019-2020. After the presentation, attendees can ask questions and engage in a dialogue with the Mayor and the City Manager.
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Neighbor to Neighbor Workshop for Market, Norkirk, and Highlands neighborhoods
Wednesday, June 19, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
City Hall Peter Kirk Room
The evening will include separate group discussions for the Market, Norkirk, and Highlands neighborhoods and Market Street Corridor. Participants will discuss a variety of topics that will shape the future of these neighbors. Neighborhood plans establish the long range vision for each neighborhood over the next 20 years, define how that neighborhood or corridor might best manage traffic, meet predicted household and job growth, and incorporate vital services in context with the citywide goals and policies in the Comprehensive Plan.
For more information visit the project webpage (see 2019 update), sign up for email announcements, or participate in the online survey from June 1 to June 30
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132nd Square Park Master Plan Concepts Presentation
Thursday, June 20, 6 to 8 p.m.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 13220 NE 132nd St
The City of Kirkland is designing a project to better manage stormwater in the Totem Lake/Juanita Creek basin. At the same time, the City is planning to invest in the 132nd Square Park's ballfields, trail system and playgrounds. To ensure that those investments are compatible with the community's vision and the City's goals for the park, Kirkland's leaders are engaging the community in a master plan process.
For more information contact Mary Gardocki, Park Planning and Development Manager at 425-587-3311.
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Sustainability Forum
Saturday, June 22, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
City Hall
The City is creating a Sustainability Master Plan to coordinate all of the City’s efforts of environmental, economic, and social sustainability. At the Sustainability Forum, you'll have the opportunity to brainstorm actions the City might undertake to support sustainability in Kirkland. To learn more please watch this video. You can also take our online survey to help inform the Sustainability Master Plan.
Questions about the Forum? Please feel free to contact David Wolbrecht at 425-587-3011 or dwolbrecht@kirklandwa.gov.
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Summer Sundays on Park Lane
Every Sunday June 2-September 22, 7 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Park Lane
All are invited to shop, stroll and dine on Park Lane in a car-free environment. Come down and enjoy the charming ambiance of a Summer Sunday!
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Juanita Friday Market
Every Friday June 7 to Sept. 27, 3 to 7 p.m.
Juanita Beach Park, 9703 N.E. Juanita Drive
A twelve-year Kirkland tradition, the Juanita Friday Market features fresh produce from local farmers, artisanal breads and desserts, locally-made honey, hot food, cut flowers, sustainable skin care products, hand-crafted jewelry, candles, natural soap, local art and much more. The weekly series is set against the stunning backdrop of Juanita Beach Park, which offers sandy shoreline, restrooms, swimming and a children’s play area.
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