Le Tour de Totem Lake to showcase redevelopment in Kirkland’s urban center

The July 28 interpretive walk will provide information and outreach opportunities.

One day before hundreds of professional cyclists blitz through Le Tour de France’s final stage of Paris’ Champs-Elysees, Kirkland residents, business-operators and developers will be ambling along Totem Lake Park, the Cross Kirkland Corridor and Northeast 124th Street. It’s all part of Le Tour de Totem Lake, which begins at 9 a.m. on July 28 at Totem Lake Park—12031 NE Totem Lake Way.

At 10:30 a.m., Mayor Amy Walen will lead a guided tour through the route.

Along this mile-long route, scores of visitors will encounter six stations featuring 10 significant projects that, together, are re-shaping Totem Lake’s core district into a walkable, vibrant and green village.

“Totem Lake is in the midst of a massive transformation,” Kirkland Mayor Amy Walen said in a press release. “We understand this amount of change—though eagerly anticipated by the community—can create both excitement and some questions. This event is an opportunity for our community to get those questions answered.”

Those projects include Totem Lake Park’s redevelopment, The Village at Totem Lake, the Eastside Rail Corridor and the Totem Lake Connector pedestrian and bicycle bridge. At some of the stations, visitors will be receiving information. At others, such as Totem Lake Park and the King County’s Eastside Rail Corridor, they’ll be collecting information and sharing perspectives.

“We are about to rebuild Totem Lake Park into the green centerpiece of the urban center,” Mary Gardocki, Kirkland’s park planning and development manager, said in a press release. “We want the community to help shape that centerpiece.”

The point of Le Tour de Totem Lake is to provide a context to the projects that are in development and in design.