Kirkland gains a new gathering place for events through renovated Park Lane

Published 10:58 am Wednesday, July 1, 2015

By Kayla Roberts

Special to the Reporter

A pedestrian friendly and plaza-style Park Lane aims to become Kirkland’s community hub by creating a gathering place for upcoming summer events.

“The community has fallen in love with the concept of having a street that is walkable,” according to Barbie Collins Young, director of the Kirkland Downtown Association. “Until they actually experienced it, they didn’t know how in love with it they were.”

Park Lane will host a myriad of summer events this year, including an outdoor sculpture gallery and the Wednesday Market. There will also be a summer concert series, a car show, Summerfest! and the Fourth of July celebration.

The Kirkland Downtown Association is not affiliated with the city of Kirkland and is run completely by volunteers and donations. All events hosted by the association will be free to the community throughout the summer, Young said.

“We are going to have for the first time an outdoor sculpture gallery in Park Lane,” said the city of Kirkland Economic Development Manager Ellen Miller-Wolfe. “Every year, we are going to curate and choose about six pieces of art. They will be for sale with the proceeds going to the artists.”

She said that these art pieces will change from season to season.

“We needed to think about the street as a more flexible space,” Wolfe said.

Park Lane has no curbs or sidewalks, and this lends itself to closing it off from traffic for events. Pedestrians can comfortably walk from one side to the other without feeling like they are stepping onto a street. It is one continuous plaza.

Park Lane is now “a place where we share the space instead of divide it,” said Christian Knight, the neighborhood services coordinator of Kirkland. “The walking and driving surfaces are all on the same level.”

He sees Park Lane as the city’s living room, a place to eat, shop, relax and enjoy active leisure. Ultimately, it is the community’s gathering place.

Originally, the merchants along the street and the Kirkland community wanted Park Lane to retain parking spaces, Young said. Now that they have experienced the street and the potential for festivals, markets and outdoor seating, she received support to keep the street closed to traffic and parking, she continued.

Young sent out a Facebook survey to a closed group called Be Neighborly Kirkland on June 1. The majority of those polled wanted Park Lane to be closed to traffic and parking from June through September. During those months, it would be for pedestrian use only.

Young submitted the poll’s result to the Kirkland City Council to discuss. Closing the street to traffic would mean losing some parking. There are about 17 parking spots in the redesigned Park Lane, Knight said.

Wolfe and Knight both said that the city is conducting studies to find all available space for parking. Wolfe is working on a project that will provide more moorage for boaters so visitors can come by Lake Washington. Other possibilities include providing shuttles or bike rentals in the future, according to Wolfe.

“Hopefully there are a number of ways of getting here,” she said, “and it is not just about parking.”

“We are keeping the quaintness. We’re keeping the community feel and small town atmosphere,” Young said.