City of Lawrence
Lawrence – Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee
November 17, 2009 minutes
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Eric Struckhoff-Chair, Gary Calton, Jay Bialek, Becky McClure, Michael Hajdu |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
Neil Taylor, Mark Desetti, |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
Bart Rudolph, Todd Girdler, Shoeb Uddin |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
Michael Almon |
The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 6:11 pm and a quorum was assured.
Mr. Hajdu announced that he would be resigning from the BAC after this meeting and would not be seeking an additional term due conflicts with his work schedule. He acknowledged the progress the Committee has made over the years and noted that he was impressed by the amount of work that was ongoing at the city level. The Chair and the Committee thanked him for his service and wished him well.
A motion to approve the meeting minutes from October 20, 2009 was moved by Mr. Hajdu and seconded by Mr. Struckhoff. The motion passed unanimously.
3. Discussion Item: Ghost Bike Memorial:
Mr. Rudolph reported that that City’s Communications Coordinator, Megan Gilliland, met with Dylan Medlock in response to his letter sent to the Lawrence City Commission requesting support for the installation of a Ghost Bike memorial. It was determined that a temporary memorial would be placed on Tennessee Street for a period of three months. This memorial would consist of a Ghost Bike (a bike painted white in honor of bicyclist killed in the area) attached to either a telephone pole or another pole in the right-of-way area and have a plaque affixed with language memorializing bicyclists that have been killed in the Lawrence area. She also agreed with the Bicycle Advisory Committee to do a more substantial placement of Ghost Bikes throughout Lawrence during the month of May, which is Bicycle Safety Month and had asked the BAC to look into the following issues; (1) donation of bikes for use, (2) locations for placement, (3) property owner approval for placement at specified locations, and (4) city staff time needed to complete the project.
The Committee was supportive of the recommendation of Ms. Gilliland and would support any efforts to create a city-wide initiative to raise awareness during Bicycle Safety Month. Many of the BAC members expressed that it would not be difficult to obtain additional bikes through donations. The Committee suggested placing Ghost Bikes at each of the locations where a cyclist had died on the roadway. If the exact location is not feasible to place a Ghost Bike, the closest location with high visibility would be acceptable. Mr. Rudolph stated that he would work with the City’s Traffic Engineer to identify the locations of each fatality, but suspects there wasn’t more than four in the last five years. He also noted that the BAC should begin working with Mr. Medlock and others who are interested in orchestrating this event.
Mr. Struckhoff also mentioned that it would be nice to eventually have a permanent sculpture that raised awareness for and celebrated cyclists.
4. Discussion Item: 2010 Street Maintenance Plan:
Mr. Rudolph referenced the proposed 2010 Comprehensive Street Maintenance Plan that was e-mailed to the Committee prior to the meeting and attached in the meeting packet. He mentioned that the Public Works department had asked the BAC to review the plan and identify any eligible bicycle facilities improvements. He also stated that identifying these improvements at this stage in the process would be beneficial and avoid having to change plans once the maintenance projects are underway. Mr. Uddin mentioned that the Public Works department tries to accommodate bicyclists on every street project and getting the BAC’s recommendations early in the process would be helpful.
Mr. Struckhoff mentioned that he would like to see 17th Street, between Indiana and Illinois, added to the overlay program. He mentioned that because of KU's eastern topography and the relatively easier slope on Mt. Oread's southern side, that part of 17th serves as a collector for bicycle riders coming from the south and southeast via 18th or Louisiana Streets, and for cyclists from the east as far north as 13th Street.
Mr. Uddin asked specifically about 13th Street, between Haskell Avenue and Massachusetts Street, and whether or not bike lanes should be added. The Committee agreed that 13th should remain a bicycle route and the bike lanes should be extended on 15th Street, which is also part of the 2010 Street Maintenance Plan. Mr. Almon asked if the Committee would include in its recommendation to extend the mill and overlay on 15th Street from Haskell to Prospect. This would ensure continuity between the existing bike lanes on 15th and the section identified in the plan and recommended for bike lanes. 15th Street is designated as future bike lanes on the Bikeway System Map.
The Committee also discussed Princeton Boulevard as a route that should include bike lanes when repaved or reconstructed. Although it is not included in the 2010 Street Maintenance Plan, the Committee felt that Public Works should be made aware of their intentions to recommend such facilities when the time approaches.
Mr. Almon suggested to mill and overlay, remove parking, and add bike lanes on 7th Street, between Tennessee Street and Florida Street. He also suggested to chip and seal, remove parking, and designate a bicycle route on 7th Street, between Florida Street and Iowa Street. The Committee was receptive of the idea, but felt that this was outside the scope of the proposed 2010 Street Maintenance Plan and should be added as an agenda item in the future.
After discussion, the BAC made 4 recommendations: (1) 13th Street should remain a designated bicycle route, but does not warrant the installation of bike lanes; (2) bike lanes should be installed on 15th street between Massachusetts Street and Haskell Avenue and the mill and overlay should be extended east to Prospect in order to complete the gap that would be created between the existing bike lanes and the lanes being proposed; (3) 17th Street, between Indiana and Illinois, be added to the overlay program; and (4) bike lanes be installed on Princeton Boulevard when it is scheduled for repaving or reconstruction.
Those recommendations were moved by Mr. Hajdu and seconded by Mr. Bialek. The motion passed unanimously.
5. Discussion Item: 6th Street Shared Use Path:
Mr. Rudolph and Mr. Uddin stated the City received another request from Carol Shankel to install bicycle signs along 6th Street where the shared use path exists. Ms. Shankel originally requested signs along this route in September 2008. Mr. Rudolph reviewed the history and timeline since that request. The BAC discussed her request in October, November, and December of 2008. It was the Committee’s decision that pavement markings, similar to those found in crosswalks, would be more effective than additional signage at alerting drivers about the shared-use path and is warranted due to the unexpected activity of bicyclists traveling in both directions on a shared-use path. The BAC’s recommendation was taken to the Traffic Safety Commission (TSC) on February 2, 2009. They agreed and recommended a trail installation of pavement markings at the crossings along 6th Street between Folks and K-10 and that the BAC report back after 6 months. That recommendation was approved by the City Commission on March 10th and the pavement markings were installed in September 2009. The BAC is scheduled to report back to the TSC in March 2010 as to the effectiveness of the pavement markings.
After discussion about other alternatives to the pavement markings, Mr. Hajdu recommended inviting Ms. Shankel to the next meeting to further discuss what she has in mind for additional signs. The Committee agreed and Mr. Rudolph stated that he would extend an invitation to Ms. Shankel to attend the January or February BAC meeting.
Mr. Rudolph also announced that the MPO and City has talked about creating a Complete Streets policy and the feasibility of shared use paths adjacent to arterial streets would most likely be examined. That work is expected to begin in 2010 and be included in the BAC’s 2010 work plan.
6. Discussion Item: Bicycle Map
Mr. Rudolph presented a draft copy of the Bicycle Rideability Map that reflected the changes discussed at the last BAC meeting. Also, he noted that he sent the map to the KU students who had proposed the idea in May 2009 as a way to help bicyclists navigate the city. Those comments received were reflected in the draft map presented.
One of the proposed changes received was to identify the traffic circle at 19th Street and Barker Avenue as a difficult intersection and code 19th Street to west of the traffic circle as red instead of yellow. The Committee agreed that the traffic circle at 19th Street and Barker Avenue should not be labeled as a difficult intersection, citing that if the cyclist takes the full lane, it is easier to navigate than a typical 4-way intersection. It was also agreed that 19th Street remain coded as a yellow route.
The Committee expressed that the map was progressing nicely and looks forward to seeing the final version.
Mr. Almon asked how the map will be distributed. Mr. Rudolph replied that the map will be available online and staff has been looking into additional funding to produce a printed version for distribution. Mr. Almon noted that if it were available online, consideration should be taken as to how the map will look printed on an 8 ½” x 11” sheet of paper and perhaps the map could be printed in quadrants. Mr. Rudolph agreed.
Mr. Rudolph stated that the final touches would be added to the map over the next month and be finalized by January 2010.
7. Quick Updates
A. Princeton Boulevard Bike Lanes
This item was discussed during agenda item #4.
8. Other Business
Mr. Rudolph mentioned that three terms are due to expire at the end of the year. Mr. Desetti will complete his second term which means that he is not eligible for reappointment. Mr. Calton will complete Ms. Bishop’s original term, so he will be eligible for reappointment to two additional terms. Mr. Hajdu’s first term expires and as mentioned at the beginning of the meeting, he will not be seeking an additional term. Mr. Rudolph explained that the new bylaws that were approved by the Committee in August are scheduled to be approved by the City and County Commissions in December and hopefully take effect in January. Those bylaws reduce the number of appointments made by the Lawrence City Commission from six to four, so Mr. Desetti’s and Mr. Hajdu’s positions would not be filled by the Lawrence City Commission. The Committee will instead need to find an additional appointment from the County and one from each of the smaller cities in Douglas County (Baldwin City, Eudora, and Lecompton).
Mr. Uddin updated the Committee that the Burroughs’s Creek Rail Trail construction is underway and on schedule. Mr. Almon mentioned that he was working on a plan to identify how to connect the north end of the rail trail to downtown and the south end to 31st Street. Mr. Almon had some questions about easements and property ownership. Mr. Uddin agreed to help Mr. Almon acquire the information he needed to answer those questions.
9. Adjournment of Meeting
The meeting adjourned at 7:56 pm.