City of Kirkland gets 5th in America's Most Walkable Cities

The City of Kirkland was ranked 5^th in walkable cities with a population of 500,000 or more by Runtheplanet.com. The article praises the City of Kirkland for their significant efforts to create a truly pedestrian friendly community. In fact, Kirkland was described as a “model of institutional pedestrian protection”.

The article also does a great job of outlining what makes a walkable city and thus what is so great about living in a walkable community. They are:

1. Compact and diverse development: A great example is the latest Kirkland Community “Nettelton Commons” Located near everything, this community has access to it all!!!

2. Places to walk: The Waterfront, Peter Kirk Park, Kirkland Library, Kirkland Performance Center, Shops and Restaurants, the list goes on and on….

3. No Impassable Barriers: The City of Kirkland was the first city in Washington State to adopt a Complete Streets Ordinance which provides for the design of streets that will enable safe access for all users.

4. Beauty: The City of Kirkland is one of the most scenic cities anywhere with it tree lined streets and one of a kind waterfront.

5. Safety: Among the many safety, traffic calming and other pedestrian improvements found throughout the city, Kirkland is credited with creating and implementing the pedestrian flag!!!! This program is now used throughout the U.S. and provides a safe and efficient way to move residents throughout the community.