Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning & Development Services

 

TO:

Thomas M. Markus, Lawrence City Manager

FROM:

Jessica Mortinger, Senior Transportation Planner

Ashley Myers, Transportation Planner

CC:

Scott McCullough, Director, Planning and Development Services

Chuck Soules, Director of Public Works

Mark Hecker, Assistant Director of Parks & Recreation

DATE:

11/16/2017

RE:

Bicycle Parking Downtown Lawrence

 

Background

In late 2015, the Douglas County Community Foundation awarded an $8,900 LiveWell Community Wellness Grants to the City of Lawrence to install bicycle parking downtown.

Twenty-two inverted U racks (accommodating two bikes per rack) of on-sidewalk bicycle parking and seven bicycle corral locations (holding four to ten bikes per corral) have been installed, with the most recent installations in November 2017.

·         1000 Block of Massachusetts St 9th and New Hampshire (SE Corner) 8th & Massachusetts St (SE Corner) – June 2016

·         100 East 9th St (parallel parking space closest to alley) – June 2016

·         707 Vermont St (Library) – March 2017

·         Massachusetts Street & 10th Street (NW Corner) – November 2017

·         1000 Block of Massachusetts Street – November 2017

·         9th & New Hampshire (SE Corner) – November 2017

·         9th & New Hampshire (NE Corner) – November 2017

 

Since 2011, the City and downtown development projects have added 125 bicycle parking spaces downtown.

 

The Bicycle Corral locations were installed as a pilot project that was approved thru December 2017. To evaluate the pilot project, bicycle parking was observed and recorded downtown. The following maps were created to indicate the density of observed parked bicycles as compared with available bike parking racks in the Downtown area in May and September 2016 and 2017. Note that need for additional parking is based solely on observed bicycles during the count times. Areas in green indicate that sufficient bike parking exists to handle the average demand. Yellow areas indicate that available parking is meeting demand, but consideration should be given to increase bike racks in those areas. Red areas indicate that demand is exceeding available bike parking.

 

May 2017 Counts

The overall number of parked bicycles observed for May 2017 was 34% lower than the previously observed number of parked bicycles in September 2016 and could be due to inclement weather. However, the number of parked bicycles not on racks stayed relatively similar to the September 2016 counts, showing that bicyclists in the downtown area are still using illegal non-rack locations including trees and light poles. As shown in the maps, the bike corral at 8th and Massachusetts Street met the demand for bicycle parking thereby remedying the insufficient bicycle parking issue in the half block.

 

September 2017 Counts

Between September 11th and September 23rd the Lawrence- Douglas County MPO measured the overall number of parked bicycles observed in downtown area. The counts indicate that September 2017 had an increase of 19% in observed number of parked bicycles since the May 2017 counts. Additionally, the total number of parked bicycles not on racks decreased by 14% between May and September of 2017, indicating that the additional parking stalls have made significant improvements to the overall bicycle parking capacity.

 

 

 

Bicycle Parking Density

The maps below show the density of observed parked bicycles compared to the capacity of bicycle parking in individual quadrants, each of which is comprised of a half city block. The color scale shows a graduation from green to red, symbolizing capacity level. Green areas indicate that there is adequate bicycle parking. Yellow areas are at capacity, showing there may be need for additional infrastructure to accommodate a higher demand of bicycles in the vicinity. Red areas indicate there is insufficient parking, signifying the need to provide additional amenities due to increased bicycle use in the quadrant.

 

The maps below were derived from counts done in May and September of 2016:

 

 


The maps below were created with data from the May and September 2017 counts (prior to the final 4 corral installation):

 

 

Staff Recommendation

From the density map shown, the majority of quadrants studied in the downtown area have satisfactory bicycle parking and reflect significant improvements from the May 2017 count. The quadrants that display insufficient bicycle parking are all located adjacent to quadrants that have available parking. The density map shows that the intersection of 8th Street and Vermont Street contains the largest amount of insufficient bicycle parking in the downtown area. The north-east quadrant at this intersection is the only red quadrant on the map and has the least sufficient bicycle parking, although three out of four of the adjacent quadrants do show significantly more bicycle parking available nearby. Increasing education and awareness about legal bicycle parking options in the downtown area, including the enforcement of illegal bicycle parking, can help to discourage bicyclists from using illegal spots.

The bicycle corral pilot project was set to expire in December 2017 after gathering one year’s worth of data. Due to the delayed installation of the bicycle corral in front of Ingredient (947 Massachusetts St), the Granada (1020 Massachusetts St), and the additional two on street locations on 9th and New Hampshire the data for the pilot project is still incomplete. The project should be extended to December 2018 once downtown bicycle parking counts are completed in May and September of 2018.

 

Staff will continue to evaluate downtown bike parking usage by conducting peak day and night counts in May and September in 2018 and annually thereafter. Staff will discuss the need for a bike corral installation policy and report bicycle parking usage to the Transportation Commission. The pilot project provides a way to assess the success and feedback for bike corrals in Lawrence and provides an opportunity to analyze and develop a process while at the same time providing for the current demand and need for secure bicycle parking. Based on the findings, staff and Transportation Commission feedback will report back to the Commission with proposed next steps by December 2018.

 

Action

Extend bicycle corral pilot project to December 31st, 2018.

 

Next Steps

Staff will continue to monitor downtown bicycle parking by conducting peak hour counts in May and September in 2018.

 

Staff should continue to implement the recommendations from the 2016 Bicycle Parking and Amenities Policy Review and Policy Review with Citywide and Downtown Recommendations including:

·         The update of the development code to require on or off-street secure bicycle parking independent of vehicle parking requirement is in the process of being established, but would greatly impact the consistency of bicycle parking available, especially in new development.

·         Long-term bicycle parking, such as bicycle lockers would incentivize bicycling as a main form of transportation, especially in the downtown area.

·         Develop a process for downtown business and/or property owners to purchase bicycle racks and install within the public ROW at their expense.