March 21, 2011

Kirkland Transit Center

DJC photos by Rebecca Sturzenegger [enlarge]

The Kirkland Transit Center opened for service Feb. 26 at Third Street and Park Lane.

Located a few blocks from downtown Kirkland, the center will improve bus service to Peter Kirk Park, the Kirkland Performance Center and the Kirkland Library. It also serves as a regional hub for Sound Transit and King County Metro Transit, and will accommodate 587 bus trips a day.

The $13.3 million project replaces a 22-year-old facility with an open-air design that includes six bus bays, five passenger shelters, pedestrian lighting, improved traffic signals, landscaping and bicycle storage.

A civic plaza and trellis provide a gateway to the park. A staircase with granite blocks entitled "Social Intricacy/The Beach" connects the center to the library.

Sound Transit planned the project in cooperation with the city of Kirkland, King County Metro, King County Wastewater Treatment Division and King County Library System. This included working with the county to install piping and upgrade sewer lines for the wastewater treatment pump station, and collaborating with Kirkland Library to design the staircase sculpture.

Owner: Sound Transit

Architect, landscape architect:Hewitt Architects, Seattle

General contractor: Bayley Construction, Mercer Island

Environmental and civil engineer: Inca Engineers, Bellevue

Structural engineer: ABKJ, Seattle

Electrical and mechanical engineer: Tres West Engineers, Tacoma

Construction management: URS Corp., Seattle

Artist: Carolyn Law, Seattle

Do you have photos of recent projects? Share them with DJC readers. Send high-resolution images and information to lisa.lannigan@djc.com.

Previous columns:

• Daybreak cohousing, 03-14-2011
• bSIDE6, 03-07-2011
• The Chloe, 02-28-2011
• Tamarack Place, 02-22-2011
• The Jaqua Center, 02-14-2011
• Eastgate Elementary, 02-07-2011
• Tableau Software, 01-31-2011
• Riverdale K-8 Grade School, 01-24-2011