Memorandum

City of Lawrence                             

Parks and Recreation Department

 

TO:

Dave Corliss, City Manager

 

FROM:

Mark Hecker, Park Superintendent

 

CC:

Ernie Shaw, Interim Director

Debbie Van Saun, Asst City Manager

Date:

8-20-07

 

RE:

Burroughs Creek Trail & Linear Park – Master plan

 

 

 

             I.      Project/Item Description.  In January of 2007 the Parks & Recreation Department contracted with Bartlett & West Engineering to create a master plan for the Burroughs Creek trail and linear park project. This planning process has been completed and representatives from Bartlett & West would like to present to the proposed plan to the City Commission for approval (see attached plans). If the proposed alignment is approved staff recommends moving forward with property acquisition for the project.

 

          II.      Project Description/History.  This project, when completed, will provide a new recreation path and linear park in East Lawrence extending from 11th Street to 23rd  Street along the abandoned rail corridor that is located just west of Haskell Ave. This trail would connect to the existing Rail Trail, running from 23rd Street to 29th Street along the same rail corridor.  In addition to this project, this rail corridor currently contains a number of major sanitary sewer lines that feed to the City’s wastewater treatment plant.  Preserving this entire corridor as public property would allow for access and maintenance of these lines and provide recreational opportunities for Lawrence residence.

 

The master plan for the park was developed with cooperation and input from adjoining neighborhood associations, interested members of the public, and City staff from a number of departments (Parks & Rec, Utilities, Public Works, Planning). The plan has been discussed at two public meetings (April 4th & July 9th) where interested citizens were given the opportunity to provide input and make suggestions on amenities for the park and the alignment of the trail.    

 

       III.      Project Status.  The Master Plan delineates the basic location of the trail and other park amenities. Once property acquisition is completed to preserve the corridor, decisions need to be made on phasing of the trail and park development.  These decisions will be dictated by the availability of funding over the next 2 to 4 years. Final decisions would also need to be made on the trail surfacing (concrete trail of lime stone screening). Attached are 2 estimates for the park development, one constructs most of the trail using lime stone screening (estimate #1) and the other would construct the entire trail in concrete (estimate #2) . These proposals ranged in price from $1.2 million to 3.9 million. Either of these could easily be constructed in 2 or 4 phases as funding allows.  

 

        IV.      Project Details. 

The first step in the project would be to acquire the abandoned rail corridor. This would involve negotiations with all adjacent property owners.

 

 

           V.      Project Funding. 

The park and trail project has been a part of the City’s CIP plan for a number of years. Funding for property acquisition will come from available Utility Department funds. Many of the components in the park could be submitted for grant funding (the trail was submitted for KDOT grant funding in 2006, but was denied). City staff recommends submitting again for the KDOT enhancement grant for this project.  Additional City funds will likely be needed for completion of the project, and will be annually considered during the formation of future capital budgets.

 

        VI.      Action Request.

 

1)     City Commission approval of the Burroughs Creek Trail & Park master plan.

2)     City Commission directs staff to begin property acquisition for future development of the project.

3)     City Commission authorization of future KDOT grant application for the project.