Starting April 1, the intersection of Lake Street and Kirkland Avenue will be closed for eight weeks. Small and medium-sized businesses argue that the city's support is not sufficient.
KIRKLAND, Wash. — Business owners in downtown Kirkland say they are anxious and concerned about an upcoming construction project that will leave a major intersection completely closed to vehicle traffic for at least two months.
Starting April 1, the intersection of Lake Street and Kirkland Avenue will be closed for eight weeks to allow the city to construct the Lake Street Scramble project.
The eight-week closure was originally scheduled for last July and August, but the city postponed the project to this spring after businesses shared concerns about the project taking place during the summer's busiest season.
Some businesses said they appreciated the city changing the date, but said the closure would still have a major impact on all businesses near the intersection. Some companies are concerned that it will be a disadvantage.
“I love Kirkland, especially downtown across the ocean,” said Ozcan Salivas, owner of Alanya Doner. “I'm on the corner, and I love it there.”
Salivas and his wife have operated a Turkish restaurant in downtown Kirkland for more than 10 years. His store is located on the corner of an intersection that will soon be closed to cars for two months.
“If they close the streets, we don't know what to do because they won't come to visit us,” Salivas said. “That means you can't use Uber, DoorDash, or GrubHub.”
He said many people stop and park their cars to get food, and he fears a significant amount of business will be lost with the closure. With the two-month intersection closure and construction continuing into December, the city said it must do more to help businesses negatively and economically impacted by the plan, according to the city's website.
“Closing the street means closing my shop,” Salivas said. “They should have a plan or something for small businesses, especially mom-and-pop businesses.”
“We know this is going to have a huge impact,” said Julie Underwood, deputy city operations manager for the city of Kirkland. “However, in our analysis and consideration, an eight-week closure had the least impact.”
Underwood said he listened to the community's concerns, which is why he moved the project to this spring instead of last summer.
“Last year, we put it on hold because we heard from the community that there was construction going on during the summer and it wasn’t the best time for downtown businesses and patrons and residents who want to enjoy the waterfront. . So we paused,” Underwood said.
She said the project is needed for pedestrian safety and storm drain improvements. She said she is trying to get the word out that businesses will remain accessible during construction.
“The intersection will be closed to motor vehicle traffic, but will maintain pedestrian and business access,” Underwood said. “Again, it’s just a minor inconvenience for something that is really needed, and we hope this intersection will be significantly improved.”
The City of Kirkland said the Lake Street Scramble will improve pedestrian safety and traffic flow downtown. The city announced that pedestrians will be allowed to cross the intersection in any direction during the traffic stop. The city announced it would raise the intersection and upgrade curb ramps and traffic lights.
Underwood said the businesses will advertise on signs that they are open, but businesses said the information they have received so far is inadequate.
“The reason we were given this little egg was because the crosswalks are called scrambles, and the little decals that were supposed to be on the windows were so small that no one could see them, let alone with a fence. You'll never see it,” he said. Danica Connors, Manager of Herban Wellness. “This is completely ineffective and our tax dollars are being used for this. I appreciate any attempts to help, but this is not effective.”
Connors said she's grateful the city moved the closure from last summer to this spring, but said every business will be significantly impacted. She said community support and additional city support will be needed.
“It’s important for everyone to support everyone here,” Connors said.
