Anti-Cruising Law Called Success -- Kirkland Council Gets Thank- You From Residents

Since Kirkland passed an anti-cruising ordinance in March, the cruisers and their accompanying sidewalk audience seem to have all but disappeared.

Not a single cruising citation has been written, according to Capt. Jon Hartley of the Kirkland Police Department.

"The anti-cruising ordinance has been an unequivocal success," said Mayor Randy Barton.

Residents along the boulevard who used to complain about the loud music, screaming, litter and youths urinating on their lawns are also pleased with the response. More than 70 people signed a petition thanking the City Council for the cruising ban.

Chuck Morgan, who lives on Lake Washington Boulevard, said the situation has improved noticeably from past years.

"What is especially pleasing is the lack of screaming. About the past, I've often said that you wouldn't know if some of those kids are being raped or what because of all the screaming. This would go on past midnight," Morgan said.

Still, not everyone is happy with the outcome. Dawn Bittner, who used to cruise and now walks the boulevard, said she, too, has noticed the lack of activity.

"I still think it's unfair," she said. "One lady suggested that instead of cruise we could walk a neighbor's dog or set up a lemonade stand. While I think those things are fine . . . I did that kind of stuff for school to help out, but they're not what kids do for fun."

Kirkland police cautiously describe the situation as "much

improved."

"It appears to be working, but we're not letting up either," said Pat Gallagher, one of the bike officers who registers license-plate numbers into a laptop computer during anti-cruising enforcement.

"In the past, we would get at least 20 to 30 complaints a night," Gallagher said.

"Last year traffic would be backed up bumper to bumper from Carillon Point to downtown . . . We would have as many as six to eight officers down there on a busy night," Hartley said.

But, he added, "I don't feel confident saying that the ordinance is working until we get three or four weeks of hot weather and it stays like this."

Hartley said officers stop people in violation of the law and hand them a pamphlet summarizing the ordinance, which says driving in the same direction on the same street more than two times within a two-hour period is prohibited.

The law doesn't apply to publicly owned vehicles, emergency vehicles, people living in the congested areas and people with necessary commercial or medical reasons.

"The response is good for us," said Hartley, "We can address other community problems than crowd control."