Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Municipal Services & Operations

TO:	Tom Markus, City Manager
FROM:	Jessica Mortinger, Transportation Planning Manager Dave Cronin, City Engineer
DATE:	April 16, 2019
RE:	Update on Non-Motorized Prioritization Policy and Lawrence Bikeway Plan

The Transportation Commission and staff has identified the need to update their Non-Motorized Prioritization Policy used as the basis to prioritize standalone bicycle and pedestrian projects for implementation. This policy provides a data-driven ranking procedure for prioritizing non-motorized transportation infrastructure projects identified in the Regional Pedestrian Plan, Countywide Bikeway Plan, and Pedestrian-Bicycle Issues Taskforce Report. However, updates to the policy are pending the outcome of the Bikeway Plan Update which is underway.

The Lawrence - Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization staff are engaged in a planning process to draft a Lawrence Bikeway Plan to update the Countywide Bikeway Plan. The Lawrence Bike Plan will reconcile the various bicycle related plans and documents (the Lawrence Pedestrian Bike Issues Task Force, the Lawrence Loop Alignment Study, the Lawrence Bike Parking and Amenities Policy Review with Citywide and Downtown Recommendations, annual bicycle and pedestrian counts, Bicycle Friendly Community feedback and the Countywide Bikeway System Plan) into one vision for the future of bikeway infrastructure in Lawrence-Douglas County.

There is a need to wait until the Lawrence Bike Plan is complete prior to updating the Non-Motorized Prioritization Policy, and the public comment period for the plan is anticipated to begin in late May followed by consideration for approvals starting in July. Anticipated changes to the bikeway demand model, the priority bikeway network, and a new secondary bikeway network will impact the prioritization model. The Transportation Commission and staff plan to have other changes and/or considerations as part of the Non-Motorized Prioritization update discussion, such as how proximity points are assigned for pedestrian projects and considerations to remove the ADA Ramps criteria to move ADA to a separate managed program.

Project selection for 2019 will occur under the existing Non-Motorized Prioritization Policy. The timeline for updating the Non-Motorized Prioritization Policy prevents specific projects from being included in the 2020 proposed Budget and Capital Improvement Program. The 2020 Capital Improvement Program will not include specific bicycle and pedestrian project recommendations because the Non-Motorized Prioritization Policy revisions will not be complete until after the City Manager’s Proposed Capital Improvement Program is submitted.