City of Lawrence
Lawrence – Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee
September 21, 2010 Minutes
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Eric Struckhoff-Chair, Tyler Longpine, Becky McClure, Jay Bialek, Tom Jerome, Gerard Arantowicz |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
Gary Calton, Neil Taylor |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
Todd Girdler, Jessica Mortinger, Shoeb Uddin |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
Becky Pepper, Aaron Fritz, Kris Norton, Dickie Heckler |
3. Discussion Item: 15th Street and K-10 Interchange Corridor Study Input for Bicycle and Pedestrian facilities. KDOT representatives Kris Norton and Aaron Fritz presented design options for the 15th Street and K-10 Interchange. The project is currently funded only through the preliminary design phase. KDOT has already completed a review of existing planning documents including the Transportation 2030 metropolitan transportation plan. The current design options include two variations of a diamond interchange, one with signals and one with roundabouts. The design plans call for a continuation of the bicycle facilities present in the corridor, although there are options about how to design those facilities through the interchange area. BAC committee members discussed the benefits and disadvantages to each design element and suggested that the number of points were the bicycle has to leave or re-enter the roadway should be minimized. There should be a continuous flow of travel available for the bicycle. As a result BAC members indicated that bike lanes through the interchange area would be the most desirable design. That design would also leave the sidewalks for pedestrians only who could then travel in either direction on either side of the bridge and not interfere with bicyclists.
4. Discussion and Action Item: 700 Block of Rhode Island: Todd Girdler explained that the roadblock and decision to make the 700 block of Rhode Island a one way was the result of the development of the Riverfront Shops & Parking Garage and the expected demand for travel in and out of that commercial site. As the demand for this movement is not as great as it used to be, the traffic control making this block one-way northbound may be unnecessary. By acclimation the BAC members recommended to forward the issue to the Traffic Safety Commission to determine the best possible design for turning this block back into two-way operation and to determine the next course of action.
5. Discussion and Action Item: Review of Ordinance 17-702: Jessica Mortinger presented the exiting language for ordinance 17-702 and explained how it could be revised in two ways to reflect the change in development that has occurred throughout Lawrence since 1979 when the ordinance was passed. The translation of business district to today’s defined spaces changes the intention of the ordinance. When written the central business district was referred to as the business district, however today there are more business districts within the city, some of which are on arterials where riding on the sidewalk may be the most comfortable way for cyclists to travel. Where it appears the original code intended to prohibit bicycle travel on sidewalks in Downtown Lawrence where pedestrians should have priority the code currently prohibits it in all business districts. Secondly the ordinance specifies that riding on a sidewalk with a bicycle within 100’ of a storefront is illegal. This means that in some areas (e.g., 23rd Street) sidewalks would be illegal to traverse by bicycling. These clarifications should reflect the reality of what is being enforced on the sidewalks across town. Eric Struckoff commented that a change in this ordinance would create a more bicycle friendly community. Tom Jerome and Gerard Arantowicz acknowledged that it was important for bicycles to still be prohibited from traveling on downtown sidewalks. Todd Girdler ensured the BAC that the intention of rewriting this part of the code was not to put bicycles on sidewalks in Downtown Lawrence. Becky McClure added that downtown sidewalks were already too crowded with people, objects, poles and outdoor seating. Jay Bialek questioned how the downtown would be defined and suggested that adding Vermont and New Hampshire to the prohibited sidewalks would be advisable since pedestrian traffic was high on those streets as well. Jessica Mortinger said during the attorney review the new language would consider and more explicitly define the downtown area, either based on an existing definition or a new one. Eric Struckoff asked the BAC if they thought it was the appropriate time to review another ordinance that conflicts with state law. Jessica Mortinger requested and the BAC members agreed that any other ordinance discussion would be placed on the October BAC agenda and discussed at that time. A motion was made by Eric Struckhoff to send ordinance 17-702 to the staff attorney for review, seconded by Jay Bialek and approved unanimously.
6. Discussion Item: Bicycle Parking in Downtown Lawrence Inventory: Jessica Mortinger presented BAC members with a draft copy of the Bicycle Parking in Downtown Lawrence Inventory. The inventory includes an assessment of all the available bicycle parking in Downtown Lawrence. There is a photo inventory of each type of rack and map of each location with a 50’ and 100’ buffer. She requested BAC assistance in developing a discussion and recommendations about bicycle parking in Downtown Lawrence based on the inventory. Specifically, Jessica sought input on the amount and locations of available parking to identify recommended steps for future improvements and actions. Eric Struckoff asked if there were places while Jessica was conducting the inventory where she noticed a number of bicycles parking at non-designated facilities. She indicated that if there was anywhere that this was noticed, it was on the 100 blocks of the numbered streets. These locations are where the parking meter bike parking ovals are located; however they are not currently mapped. BAC members were overall surprised by the reported 304 bicycle parking spaces. The BAC agreed to review the draft report and have further discussion on this item at the October BAC meeting.
7. Discussion/Action Item: 7th Street Bicycle Pedestrian Bridge Support Letter and Parallel Pathway Along Iowa Street: No new developments have occurred in the progression of this letter. MPO staff will meet with Eric Struckoff prior to the October BAC meeting to review the preliminary additional information necessary to consider moving g this project forward.
8. Bicycle and Pedestrian Counting Program for 2010: Jessica Mortinger shared the preliminary assessment of the 2010 count. Volunteers counted at the same 11 locations counted last year and one additional location. The additional location (Iowa Street north of Bob Billings) was at the request of Shoeb Uddin, Lawrence City Engineer. Shoeb indicated that the additional location was part of the ongoing process in the design for reconstruction of Iowa Street. Jessica indicated that the counts would be completed tomorrow, finalizing the data collection. Submission to the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Database will occur in the next month. Data will be available for review at the October or November BAC meeting.
9. Discussion and Action Item: Bicycle Rideability Map: Jessica Mortinger presented the latest draft of the Bicycle Rideability Map to BAC members. She requested feedback and comments about the design and layout of the map. The current plan will post the map online by October 1st and coincide with submittal of a grant application for funds to print. Currently no funding is available to print the map and without funding the map will be available online only. Todd Girdler asked Jay Bialek if these maps would be useful for his work with the schools in Lawrence. Jay indicated that these maps would be useful to school resource officers at Junior High and High Schools as resources for students. Jessica indicated the map could also be created in a poster format that could be hung in the lobby at local schools as a reference. Jay thought this might be a beneficial application in addition to the printed pocket map versions.
10. Action Item: BAC Meeting Time and Location: The meeting time and location was decided by BAC members, the best time to meet is 6:00 PM on the third Tuesday of the month on the ground floor of the Lawrence City Hall in the Public Works Conference Room. A motion was made by Becky McClure and seconded by Gerard Arantowicz, it was approved unanimously.
11. Other Business
Becky McClure reported a pavement deficiency at the location where the SLT bike trail crosses Kasold. Shoeb Uddin noted this and said he would contact the Parks Department about this since they handle trail maintenance.
12. Adjournment of Meeting
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Tom Jerome and seconded by Tyler Longpine. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 7:25 PM.