City of Lawrence

Public Transit

Memorandum

TO:	Diane Stoddard, Interim City Manager
FROM:	Robert A. Nugent, Public Transit Administrator
CC:	Casey Toomay, Assistant City Manager Brandon McGuire, Assistant to the City Manager
DATE:	October 20, 2015
RE:	Transit Center in University of Kansas Central District

Lawrence Transit has been actively seeking a location for a transit center for several years. A consultant was hired to guide the process and determined that the most appropriate location for a transit center was in the center of our community or in close proximity to KU campus (see attached map). All of the final locations that were evaluated as part of the Transit Center Location Analysis met this criteria and was based on the guiding question of “what is the best location for a transit center that would best serve our entire community?”

Earlier this year Lawrence Transit presented the final candidate location that resulted from the Transit Center Location Analysis to City Commission for approval. City Commission did not approve the location and directed staff to look at a possible location in the Central district of the KU campus. This was proposed due to the fact that there were ongoing plans to “rethink” the Central district that included considerable demolition and construction. Since that time KU Parking and Transit and Lawrence Transit staff have been working with KU to possibly incorporate a transit center in the plans for the Central district.

In order to meet the needs of both the City and KU it was determined that an intermodal facility would be the best option. This intermodal facility would act as a transit center, multimodal hub and parking facility. As perceived the facility would be a multi-story parking garage that utilized the first floor as a transit center. The upper floors of the facility would act as a standard parking garage.

During the evaluation of sites within the Central district several issues were discovered that would make it difficult, if not impossible, from a transit operational point of view. The ease of access to and from the majority of the sites is greatly compromised by traffic and traffic control devices. The sites were also limited in the ability to allow for alternative paths in and out of the facility. With considerable design work already completed within the Central district opportunities to make meaningful changes in order to better accommodate transit operations are limited.

A recent suggestion to consider locating the intermodal facility in Lot 90 is intriguing and has significant advantages over the other sites.  The footprint for the intermodal center would take somewhere between ¼ and 1/3 of the lot—or a little more than 2 acres.  18^th Street would have to be rebuilt, as well as the one block length of Arkansas or Missouri in order to provide a secondary access point. 

Staff agrees that the western side of the lot should be avoided and believes that the southern edge be avoided as well.  This would place a new parking facility in a location where one is already on the long range plan.  It would be a popular increase in parking in an area that needs it.  While the Central district will need more parking eventually, the Lot 90 location would meet an immediate need. 

The funding for such a facility is yet to be determined although staff is anticipating applying for upcoming Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Funding in early 2016. Staff has been working with FTA in preparation of this joint application process. The grant funding, if awarded, would be 80% federal and 20% local and could apply to both the facility and access.