Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Public Transit

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Robert A. Nugent, Public Transit Administrator
CC:	Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager Cynthia Boecker, Assistant City Manager
Date:	June 5, 2013
RE:	Agenda Item: Alternate Site Analysis for Temporary Transit Hub

Please place the following item on the agenda for the June 11, 2013 City Commission meeting:

On May 28, 2013, while hearing a petition against the temporary relocation of the Lawrence Transit hub to Vermont, Commission requested a more detailed analysis of an alternate location at 10^th and Kentucky. Over the last two weeks staff reviewed this location and found the following:

ADA

• The brick sidewalk would have to be removed. 
• All sidewalks would have to be removed and lowered at least 12 inches to be at curb height.  This would make it necessary to install a retaining wall in order to tie into parking area. Retaining walls would also have to be installed around base of large trees
  (especially on the side of 10^th) in order to preserve roots.
• Approximately 12 feet of grass right-of-way would have to be paved on both sides of 10^th from Vermont to Kentucky.  Estimated cost for this temporary improvement would be approximately $180,000. Due to Federal requirements the total cost of these changes would be with local funds.
• Transfers requiring a person with a disability to cross to the other curb to complete the transfer, may be hazardous under busy traffic conditions.

Parking

• Ten parking meters would have to be removed.
• Approximately 50% of the parking spaces available at this location were in use when staff performed the ADA lift and accessibility analysis. There appeared to be a fairly rapid turnover of these spaces, with people destined for the surrounding churches and facilities.

Bus Operations

• Turning onto 10^th from either Kentucky or Tennessee would present unmanageable safety hazards, too many vulnerable points to account for, for bus operators.  The narrow traffic lanes and parking on both sides of both streets will result in significant tail-swing issues (back of the bus swinging into parallel lanes of traffic) for the buses when turning left or right onto 10th.  This will be additionally complicated by any parked or stopped vehicles on 10^th at the intersection, or oncoming traffic on 10^th approaching the intersection, with the best possible outcome being ongoing traffic tie-ups while bus drivers wait for other traffic to pass, back up, or otherwise clear the area. 
• 10^th is too narrow to support buses and traffic with buses parked on both sides of the street.  Public traffic would be effectively reduced to one center lane to be shared by both directions of travel.  For a bus or other large vehicles to move through the area this will be a tight, narrow corridor prone to side-swipe collisions.  For all traffic there will be significant exposure to traffic conflicts resulting in someone having to back up to make room for the other to pass.  Buses cannot do that without a supervisor, manager, or other supervisor-designated spotter on the ground to guide them.
• Pedestrian traffic, related to the buses or not (there was considerable mid-block jaywalking while we were there from activity at one of the churches), will create an unreasonable public exposure to vehicle/pedestrian collisions throughout the area.  Pedestrian and driver vision will be blocked by buses parked on 10^th, whether crossing at mid-block or at a crosswalk.  Pedestrians entering the street between or around buses will be at great risk of serious or fatal injury.

• The site would allow only two buses between the street and alley, and one of them would have to be a small bus. 
• The smaller trees on the north side of 10^th Street would have to be trimmed back so they do not project over the curb line. 

Property Impact

(Staff talked with representatives from all three churches in the immediate area)

• Parking is an issue here as well.
• Two of the three churches operate pre-schools during the school year. This adds to the demand on parking while in operation.
• Parking is not just an issue on Sunday. All three churches perform services and other activities during the week.
• Proposed location of stop would place buses very near the building and would affect the ability of churches to perform the activities and community support services that they currently provide.

In addition to evaluating the location at 10^th and Kentucky staff also performed a cursory evaluation of a second location in the 700 block of East 9^th. This location was brought to our attention immediately after the Commission meeting. The immediate concern pertaining to this proposal is that 6 of the 7 routes that currently serve the downtown would have to be extended in order to get to this location. These extensions would take considerable time to perform and would necessitate the restructuring or shortening of routes in order to provide on time service. The only route that would benefit from this location would be Route 1 which serves east and southeast Lawrence.  

Conclusion:

Staff believes that there are considerable safety, operational and cost issues associated with the two alternate locations that were analyzed. Appropriately addressing these issues in the limited time before development necessitates the move of operations would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. The previously approved temporary site in the 800 block of Vermont provides considerably less issues. Therefore, staff continues to support the 800 block of Vermont for the temporary transit hub.     

Requested Action:

Provide direction to staff as appropriate.