Cross Kirkland Corridor Ideas? Expert Panel to Discuss Them Thursday

Ideas for turning the abandoned railroad through town -- the “Cross Kirkland Corridor” -- into a pedestrian/bicycle path and light transportation line will be the focus of panel discussion Thursday at the (KAC).

Part of KAC’s 50th anniversary celebration and co-sponsored by the city and the King County Library System, the panel will include architects, designers and artists. The event is free and will include a short presentation about the corridor and audience feedback.

It is part of an ongoing dialogue that began this winter when . The city’s plan for the line includes in the near future a pedestrian/bicycle path, and in the longer term perhaps some form of light transportation system.

Kirkland Mayor Joan McBride will introduce the panel and the discussion will be moderated by Ellen Miller-Wolfe, the city’s economic development manager. The panel includes Lesley Bain of Weinstein AU; Brian Brand of Baylis Architects; Lee Copeland of Mithun consultants; Carolyn Law and Ellen Sollod, both public works artists; Barbara Swift of the Swift Company; and Raymond Yan of DigiPen.

The Cross Kirkland Corridor runs from the city’s boundary with Woodinville in the Totem Lake area south to its boundary with Bellevue near the It is seen as a way to knit together north-to-south Kirkland’s neighborhoods, parks, schools and businesses, and a way to encourage alternative transportation.

The King County Library System (KCLS) is working with Kirkland Arts Center to create opportunities for individuals to make suggestions about potential uses of the corridor. KCLS has launched an online tool called the Dialogue app that you can use to participate in the conversation. A design competition, open to the public, will be announced shortly.

The panel discussion is in KAC’s gallery on Thursday, July 12, from 7-9 p.m.

More information about the corridor can be found at www.kirklandwa.gov/Community/Cross_Kirkland_Corridor.htm.