April 4, 2019
To: Lawrence City Commission
From: Aaron Frits P.E., Road Design Leader
Re: South Lawrence Trafficway UPDATE (KDOT Project #10-23 KA-3634-01)
As part of the South Lawrence Trafficway (SLT) Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) process, the project team has identified key milestones to provide information to the public officials in the community. These briefings present an opportunity to share the status of the project and allow concerns from public officials to be shared with KDOT and FHWA. These briefings are in advance of public meetings, where there is additional opportunity for public comments and feedback.
The purpose of the April 16, 2019 briefing will be to present:
This is an informational briefing to keep you current on the status of the study. There is no action required from you.
KDOT, FHWA and the South Lawrence Trafficway (SLT) project team met with an advisory group on Thursday, March 28 from 2 pm to 4 pm at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the project updates and gather feedback from the group regarding the SLT Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) project.
The SEIS will further review the concept alternatives and evaluate the entire corridor for impacts and identify ways to minimize or avoid impacts to sensitive environmental features within the project study area. The SEIS will take about three years and will be completed in 2021.
PURPOSE AND NEED
The Purpose and Need statement for the project was reviewed in the fall of 2018. The public was invited to a public meeting to provide concerns and feedback. After review, the refined Purpose and Need for SEIS include the following goals:
· Reduce congestion and improve the traffic capacity to meet existing and future travel demands,
· Enhance safety to help address high crash locations within the study area,
· Promote a multimodal transportation system by ensuring the project accommodates the needs of other transportation modes, and
· Support local and regional growth by providing and coordinating transportation connections to be consistent with planned and proposed community land use and development.
PUBLIC MEETING SUMMARY
Public comments provided at the public meeting in November 2018 can be categorized in the following areas:
· Safety. Safety is a major concern throughout the corridor. The specific locations most respondents are concerned about include K-10 at Wakarusa, K-10 at Farmers Turnpike and K-10 at E 1200 Road.
· Traffic and congestion. Many of the public participants identified K-10 at Wakarusa/27th Street as the location where traffic congestion is the worst along the corridor.
· Access at Farmer’s Turnpike. Several meeting participants are opposed closing access at the current location for Farmers Turnpike. There is also concern about changing or relocating access to Farmer’s Turnpike.
· Tolling. A significant number of participants submitted comments opposing tolling as a funding option for K-10.
· Overall support for project. Most meeting participants agreed that improvements to the SLT are needed.
INITIAL ALTERNATIVES
Currently, the project team is reviewing reasonable initial alternatives to understand how the alternatives best meet the purpose and need for the project. A detailed Alternatives Memo has been provided as part of your packet. The alternatives include:
· No Action
· Transportation System Management/Transportation Demand Management (TSM/TDM)
· Mulitmodal
· Build – Add Capacity Expressway
· Build – Add Capacity Freeway
· Build – Add Capacity Tolled Highway
SCREENING CRITERIA
The Screening Criteria and methodology memo provided explains how the initial alternatives will be evaluated. To determine how well each of the alternatives meet the goals of the Purpose and Need, screening criteria was identified and each of the alternatives were rated on a scale from “No
Achievement” to “Complete Achievement” on that criteria. Environmental and engineering criteria were also used. Your packet also includes a blank screening criteria matrix.
NEXT STEPS
The next steps will include a public informational open house and determining the best reasonable alternatives to carry forward. The public will be invited to provide comments and talk to the project team at the 2nd public meeting, scheduled for May 1, 2019 at Southwest Middle School from 5-7 pm.
To learn more about project updates and sign up to receive the latest information, the public is encouraged to visit www.slt-ks.org. If individuals are not able to attend the public meeting, materials will be posted online with links to send comments to the project team.