The city of Kirkland has a new policy that aims to minimize construction impacts on pedestrians and bicyclists by limiting the closure of sidewalks, bike lanes and parking lanes during the development project for the shortest time possible.

Per the policy, developers may request a closure of up to eight weeks to construct new street improvements – sidewalks, bike lanes and parking lanes, but the street or sidewalk cannot be closed or detoured for the convenience of the developer for things such as construction staging or material storage.

The policy applies to development that is located on a collector or arterial type street, along any city-adopted School Walk Route or on any other street with a high-use of pedestrians as determined by Kirkland’s Public Works Department. Pedestrian detours should be maintained on the same side of the street whenever possible and any closures longer than two weeks require approval by the city.

The Kirkland City Council considered the policy at its Nov. 3 meeting.  Councilmember Dave Asher expressed that the policy “is a great step forward for our walkable community.”

The City Council considered legislation that would formally regulate time-limited street improvement closures and impose fees but chose to establish a policy for now and revisit a proposed ordinance after the new policy has been in effect for one year.

The policy was developed with input from developers, the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties and Kirkland Greenways.