City of Lawrence

Lawrence – Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee

October 20, 2009 minutes

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Eric Struckhoff-Chair, Gary Calton, Jay Bialek, Becky McClure, Mark Desetti

MEMBERS ABSENT:

Neil Taylor, Michael Hajdu

STAFF PRESENT:

Bart Rudolph, Todd Girdler

PUBLIC PRESENT:

None

 

 

1.    Call Meeting to Order and Assurance of Quorum

The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 6:10 pm and a quorum was assured.

 

2.    Approval of the September 15, 2009 Meeting Minutes

A motion to approve the meeting minutes from September 15, 2009 was moved by Mr. Desetti and seconded by Mr. Struckhoff. The motion passed unanimously.

 

3.    Discussion Item: Bicycle Map

The Committee discussed the Draft Bicycle Rideability Map that was the result of the initial brainstorming exercise at the September 15, 2009 BAC meeting. Copies of the map were mailed to each member on September 24th to review and edit. Mr. Rudolph asked if there were any modifications the Committee would like to make to the map.

 

Mr. Rudolph added that the MPO’s Technical Advisory Committee suggested adding a connection to the K-10 Trail that ends at N 1750 Road, differentiate between on-road and off-road facilities, and add the locations of trail heads and parking lots. The committee decided that since this map is intended to help people commuting by bicycle, parking lot locations were not needed, but adding trails and shared use paths as a separate color would be a good idea.

 

Mr. Struckhoff recommended adding N 1750 Road from E 1000 Road to E 800 Road as a yellow route and adding text to the legend that explains that some yellow routes may include gravel roads. He also suggested adding some yellow routes south of Lawrence by Clinton Lake where a lot of cyclists ride regularly.

 

Mr. Desetti suggested adding McDonald Drive and 2nd Street as a difficult intersection.

 

The Committee also decided to add Haskell Avenue as a red route from 31st Street to 23rd Street and a yellow route from 23rd Street to 19th Street.

 

Mr. Rudolph stated that he would make the changes and review each route to determine its bicycle level of service. The map would then be brought back to the BAC for approval in November. Mr. Struckhoff added that the draft map should be shared with the KU class who suggested this idea to the BAC in May 2009. The Committee agreed and Mr. Rudolph said he would forward it to them once the initial revisions discussed at this meeting were made.

 

4.    Other Business

Mr. Struckhoff mentioned that the BAC members were copied on a letter from Dylan Medlock sent to the Lawrence City Commission requesting support for the installation of a “ghost bike” memorial at 10th and Tennessee Streets. He mentioned that the letter indicated that Mr. Medlock would be speaking at the October 20, 2009 City Commission meeting explaining the details and purpose of the memorial. The Committee thought the “ghost bike” was a good idea and echoed Mr. Medlock’s statement that more work needs to be done to educate motorists and cyclists about bicycle safety. While in agreement with the general idea, the BAC felt that some issues would need to be worked out. 1) Would others who were involved in fatal crashes be memorialized? 2) Would bicycle fatalities that did not involve an automobile crash be memorialized? 3) If the location of the crash is not suitable for a memorial, where would it be placed? 4) Who would be responsible for maintenance? 5) Would it be better to have a general memorial representing all bicycle fatalities? Members expressed concern that when they saw “ghost bikes” in other cities, some were well maintained, but others just looked like abandoned bikes. There was discussion about installing these memorials for the duration of Bicycle Safety Month to help spread awareness. Mr. Struckhoff encouraged all the members to visit the web site provided in Mr. Medlock’s letter and add this item to the BAC agenda next month for further discussion.

 

Mr. Rudolph mentioned that Public Works received a request from a resident to add bike lanes on Princeton Boulevard during its next resurfacing.  The resident was concerned with the wide lanes and motorists using the roadway as two lanes in each direction instead of the intended one lane in each direction, making it unsafe for bicyclists to predict vehicle movements and encouraging higher speeds. Mr. Rudolph had thought that the BAC had discussed this item in the past and recommended not to install bike lanes, but wanted to revisit the idea in the wake of this request. Mr. Struckhoff stated that the BAC did not recommend bike lanes due to the fact that parking was allowed and there were some safety concerns placing a bike lane adjacent to the parking lane. With the most recent addition of the bike lanes on 9th Street, he felt that bike lanes could be added with parking if they adhere to AASHTO standards. Mr. Desetti agreed and wanted to make sure that the width of the road would support a driving lane, bike lane, and parking lane before the BAC amended its Bikeway System Map. The Committee agreed and Mr. Rudolph said he would work with Public Works to determine the width and if a bike lane could be safely designated. The Committee will take action on this item at its November meeting.

 

Mr. Girdler presented details of the South Lawrence Trafficway (SLT) shared use path. KDOT had presented information about this project during a joint City and County Commission Study Session. Mr. Girdler mentioned that the plans call for a shared use path to travel adjacent to the SLT at a higher elevation, similar to a levee. The path would have a 6’ noise wall between the path and the roadway and will not include lighting. Mr. Girdler asked if the BAC had commented on this proposal and if they had any concerns with the design. Mr. Struckhoff mentioned that the Committee did not provide any comments on the design of the path, but was pleased it was part of the SLT design. Mr. Desetti mentioned that it would be important that safe access be provided where the path and roadway intersect and that the noise wall will not interfere with the visibility of both motorists and cyclists. The Committee echoed this statement and noted that they would prefer to have the noise wall between the SLT and the path, rather than between the path and the wetlands. Mr. Girdler stated that staff would double check the plans and ensure that the intersections would be safe and that the noise wall will not interfere with visibility of the cyclists using the path.

 

5.    Adjournment of Meeting

The meeting adjourned at 7:10 pm.