Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Jonathan Douglass, Assistant to the City Manager
CC:	Ron Olin, Chief of Police Mark Bradford, Fire Medical Chief Charles Soules, Director of Public Works Bob Nugent, Transit Administrator
DATE:	March 25, 2010
RE:	Tour of Lawrence

The city has received the attached request from the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) for city approvals and support for the 2010 Tour of Lawrence bicycle event, including a $10,000 contribution from the Transient Guest Tax Reserve Fund and donation of various in-kind city services. The event has three components: 1) a street sprint on 7^th Street downtown on Friday, July 2, 2) a campus course (including some surrounding neighborhoods) to be raced on Saturday, July 3, and 3) a downtown criterium on Sunday, July 4. Staff from the Police Department, Fire Medical Department and City Manager’s Office has been meeting with the event organizers to review plans for the event. Staff has mailed notification of the City Commission consideration of this item to properties located along the race routes. The various components of this request for approval/support follow:

Monetary support

The CVB has requested a $10,000 allocation from the Transient Guest Tax Reserve Fund in support of the event. The request submitted by the CVB contains a breakdown of how these funds would be used.

Temporary Use of Right-of-Way Permit

The CVB has requested a temporary use of right-of-way permit for the use of various city streets for the street sprint, the downtown criterium and the campus course. For the street sprint, portions of 7^th Street from Kentucky to New Hampshire would be closed from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m on Friday, July 2 (see the following section on “Parking and traffic control details” for more details about all three routes).  

The city streets associated with the campus course would be closed on Saturday, July 3, from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Parking would be prohibited on the campus course, but course marshals would control vehicular traffic to allow safe access to properties along the course throughout the day on Saturday. These streets will be controlled but not completely closed.

For the criterium, the downtown streets would be closed on Sunday, July 4, from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. These downtown streets would be completely closed to vehicular traffic and parking.

Parking and traffic control details

The street sprint event on Friday, July 2, would consist of a series of short sprints on 7^th Street from just east of Kentucky Street to just east of Massachusetts Street. Racers would cross the finish line at Massachusetts then return to the starting line area by turning north onto the alley between Massachusetts and New Hampshire, turning west onto the drive located north of 634 Massachusetts, turning south onto Massachusetts Street, and turning west on 7^th Street (see attached map and traffic control plan for details). Due to the lateness of the street closures many businesses will already be closed and thus not affected, and most parking will not be prohibited, only controlled.

Traffic management for the street sprint would require a number of street closures:

• At 3:00 p.m. 7^th Street from Kentucky to Vermont will be closed to through traffic in order to begin setup of the starting line area; the westernmost entrance to the block will be closed entirely and the easternmost entrance will be posted no through traffic; vehicles will be able to enter the block in order to access the post office parking and would have to perform a U-turn to exit at 7^th and Vermont;
• At 3:00 p.m. 7^th Street from Massachusetts to New Hampshire will be closed to through traffic in order to begin setup of the finish line area; the westernmost entrance to the block will be closed entirely and the easternmost entrance will be posted no through traffic; vehicles will be able to enter the block in order to access the on street parking and would have to perform a U-turn to exit at 7^th and New Hampshire or via the alley;
• At 5:30 p.m. the 600 block of Massachusetts would be closed from just south of the M&M Office Supply driveway, which southbound traffic would utilize to turn around and head back north; vehicles parked south of that point would be allowed to stay in the parking stalls; course marshals would be stationed south of the M&M Office Supply driveway to move barricades and let vehicles exit; course marshals would only allow vehicles to enter the closed portion of the block as parking becomes available; a turnaround area with no parking will be maintained near the south end of the 600 block to assist vehicles turning around to head back south to exit the block;
• The 700 block of Massachusetts would be barricaded at 7^th and 8^th Streets at 5:30 p.m., but vehicles would be allowed to stay in the parking stalls; course marshals would be stationed at 8^th Street to move barricades and let vehicles exit; course marshals will only allow vehicles to enter the block as parking becomes available; a turnaround area with no parking will be maintained near the north end of the 700 block to assist vehicles turning around to head back south to exit the block;
• City Parking Lot 12, located at the southeast corner of 7^th and Vermont, will be closed at 5:30 p.m.; vehicles will be unable to leave the parking lot after 5:30 p.m.; signage will explain this closure;
• 7^th Street would be completely closed to traffic and parking from just east of Kentucky to just east of the alley between Massachusetts Street and New Hampshire Street beginning at 7:00 p.m.; towing would need to be enforced in this area;
• 7^th Street would be blocked to westbound incoming traffic at New Hampshire Street, but there would be no need to tow cars out of the portion of 7^th Street between New Hampshire Street and the alley between New Hampshire and Massachusetts; these vehicles could leave with the help of course marshals who would move barricades;
• The 600 block of Vermont would be closed at 7:00 p.m. just south of the Post Office’s service driveway which connects Vermont and Kentucky; southbound (one way) traffic would be diverted down that drive and out onto Kentucky; vehicles already parked on the closed portion of the block would be allowed to remain in the parking stalls; the block would be posted no through traffic at 6^th and Vermont;
• The 700 block of Vermont would be closed at 7:00 p.m. from just north of the library parking lot entrance, but vehicles would be allowed to stay in the parking stalls; course marshals would be stationed at that point to move barricades and let vehicles exit; course marshals will only allow vehicles to enter the closed portion of the block as parking becomes available; a turnaround area with no parking will be maintained near the north end of the 700 block to assist vehicles turning around to head back south to exit the block;
• Kentucky Street and New Hampshire Street, which bookend the race course, will not be closed.

For the campus route on Saturday, July 3, the CVB requests that all streets along the route be marked “no parking” with the staked signs often used by the Police Department. These signs would be provided by the Police Department and would be placed by CVB staff. Race officials would control the flow and direction of vehicular traffic so that no streets are completely closed throughout the day on Saturday, July 3. The first race is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. and the last race should end around 8:00 p.m. Access for emergency vehicles will not be impeded, but residents and visitors to properties along the course may at times have to wait a few minutes for safe passage between groups of cyclists.

For the downtown criterium on Sunday, July 4, the CVB would place “no parking” signs on meters and signs in planters and affected parking lots inside the course area on Saturday, July 3, with the parking prohibition effective starting 6:00 a.m. Sunday, July 4. The CVB suggests using signs rather than bagging the meters to avoid prematurely giving the impression that parking is prohibited. Lot 4 on the west side of the 800 block of New Hampshire would be closed and reserved for participant parking but no actual enforcement (i.e. towing) is planned. Vehicles would be able to leave the parking lot by crossing New Hampshire and exiting via the alley or Rhode Island Street. Access to the New Hampshire Street Garage would be closed from New Hampshire Street beginning at 6:00 a.m. Sunday, but vehicles will be able to enter and leave the garage throughout the event (with law enforcement control) via the 9^th Street exit. 

Temporary sale, possession and consumption of alcohol

The CVB has requested a permit for the temporary sale, possession and consumption of alcohol in certain spectator areas downtown during both the street sprint and the criterium. The areas can generally be described as portions of the 600 and 700 blocks of Massachusetts and 7^th Street from Vermont to New Hampshire during the street sprint, and the 700, 800, and 900 blocks of Massachusetts as well as 8^th Street and 9^th Street from Vermont to New Hampshire during the criterium. Because the proposed area is within 400 feet of several churches, city code requires that the churches be given 30 days notice that a public hearing will be held regarding the request. Staff has scheduled the public hearing for April 20, 2010.

Police services

The CVB has requested traffic control services from the Police Department during both the downtown and campus portions of the event. Sergeants Michael Monroe and Matt Sarna have been working with the CVB on traffic control plans. KU Police will be responsible for traffic control for the on-campus portions of the course. The Police Department can support this event, but because the downtown criterium is on July 4, it should be recognized that police resources will already be taxed by other holiday events.

Fire Medical services

The CVB will be providing some medical assistance for the event participants, and has also requested the presence of standby emergency medical units at the events at levels determined appropriate by the Fire Medical Department.

Trash services

The CVB has requested placement of an additional 14 trash barrels downtown during the criterium. The Parks and Recreation will determine if they can accommodate this request by moving existing trash barrels from city parks, or whether extras should be purchased. CVB staff or volunteers will be responsible for emptying these trash barrels as needed into a city dumpster to be placed in Lot 4.

Miscellaneous city services

The CVB has requested a number of other items of support from the city. These items can be accommodated by the Public Works Department.

• Use of 27 saw horse barricades to be placed in alleys and surface lots.
• Street sweeping prior to and following the event.
• Patching and minor maintenance of certain portions of race routes if there are safety concerns.
• Temporary removal of traffic calming circles at 17^th & Illinois and 17^th & Indiana.
• Temporary removal of pedestrian crossing signs located on the 800 block of New Hampshire.
• Use of two sections of bleachers during the street sprint and criterium, if available.

Cost Summary

The actual costs to the city on behalf of last year’s event are summarized below. This year’s costs are expected to be similar, with two exceptions. The CVB is requesting $10,000 from the guest tax, and Public Works should see reduced costs because the event organizers are planning to contract for the fencing, which was transported by the city last year.

2009 Actual Costs
Guest Tax Reserve Fund Allocation	$5,000.00
Public Works (Street/curb repairs, barricade and fencing delivery, etc.)	$9,047.28
Fire Medical (Standby medical services)	$7,880.13
Police (Traffic control, general patrol)	$4,502.92
Parks and Recreation (Pre- and post-race cleanup)	$737.53
TOTAL	$22,167.86

Roger Zalneraitis, Economic Development Coordinator/Planner, performed an analysis of the economic impact of this event, using participant numbers from 2009 and general estimates of spending by overnight and day visitors provided by the Convention and Visitors Bureau. The analysis included only direct spending by visitors on categories such as lodging, food/beverage and retail. The 2009 event likely generated an estimated $68,400 in revenue for local businesses and $3,400 in tax revenue (Transient Guest Tax, City Sales Tax, and County Sales Tax). If the event grows to around 600 participants as hoped in 2010, it could generate an estimated $129,500 in revenue for local businesses and $6,500 in taxes. This analysis does not take into account any kind of multiplier effect of the local spending or yet unrealized benefits such as future trips generated.

ACTIONS:    Approve allocation of $10,000 from the Guest Tax Reserve Fund to the CVB in support of the Tour of Lawrence, if appropriate.

Approve temporary use of right-of-way permit for the use of various city streets on July 2-4, 2010 for the Tour of Lawrence, pending receipt of proof of insurance, if appropriate.   

                   Approve the donation of various city services in support of the Tour of Lawrence, if appropriate.