Lawrence- Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee May 20, 2014 5:00 PM-6:30PM Parks & Recreation Conference Room 1141 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, KS AGENDA 1. Call Meeting to Order 2. Approval of the April 15, 2014 Meeting Minutes (drafts attached) 3. Discussion/Action Item: Proposed City of Lawrence No Parking in Bike Lane Ordinance Lawrence Public Works Staff will discuss the need for a local ordinance prohibiting parking in Bike Lanes. This item will also be on the June Traffic Safety Commission agenda. 4. Discussion/Action Item: 2014 Street Striping and Markings Work Plan Review Lawrence Public Works Staff will present the plan and ask for BAC feedback about opportunities to add bicycle lane and shared lane (sharrow) markings. 5. Discussion/Action Item: Roundabouts & Bicycle Safety (diagrams attached) Lawrence Public Works Staff will discuss roundabout design and bicycle safety with the BAC members, soliciting feedback from bicyclists about the use of roundabouts in Lawrence. 6. Discussion/Action Item: SLT Shared Use Path to Haskell Shared Use Path- Planning a Connection Lawrence Public Works Staff will discuss a preferred alignment and cost estimates for paving the connection between the two shared use paths currently being constructed. 7. Discussion/Action Item: Reverse Angle Parking RE: 11th & Mississippi St project and Other Future Projects Lawrence Public Works Staff will discuss parking design and bicycle safety with the BAC members, soliciting feedback from bicyclists about the proposed use of reverse angle parking in Lawrence. 8. Discussion/Action Item: Appoint a member to represent BAC on the Regional Pedestrian Plan Steering Committee (invitation attached) BAC members will be asked to appoint a member to represent the BAC on the Regional Pedestrian Plan Steering Committee. 9. Discussion/Action Item: Prioritization of Bicycle Infrastructure Improvements Page 1 of 2
BAC members will bring their top 5 identified desired improvements and make a list of the top 5 infrastructure priorities of the BAC. 10. Discussion/Action Item: Set Agenda for Bike/Ped Coordination Forum BAC members will decide on a meeting time, date and location. They will also choose a member(s) to represent the BAC and to facilitate the discussion at the forum. BAC members will help staff set an agenda for the event. Proposed dates/locations: Carnegie- Thursday June 26 th Depot - Monday June 23 rd Depot- Thursday June 26 th Depot - Monday June 30 th 11. Other Business/ Updates Bicycle Rideability Map BAC Bike Ride & Bike Month Events Update 12. Public Comments This item is to allow brief public comments on items. Comments from each individual or organization will be limited to five minutes. 13. Adjournment of Meeting and Announcement of Next Meeting Next Regular Meeting is scheduled for June 17, 2014 at 5PM in Eudora, KS or another date set by the BAC. Page 2 of 2
City of Lawrence Lawrence Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee April 15, 2014 Minutes MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: PUBLIC PRESENT: Lisa Hallberg, Erin Paden, Bill Anderson, David Hamby, Chad Foster, Jacki Becker, Dan Ashley Justin Eddings, Chris Rogge Todd Girdler, Jessica Mortinger Charlie Bryan, Chris Tilden 1. Call Meeting to Order, Introductions and Assurance of Quorum: The meeting was called to order at 5:06 p.m. A quorum was present. 2. Approval of the March 11 & March 18, 2014 Meeting Minutes A motion to approve the minutes from the March meetings was moved by Mr. Anderson seconded by Mr. Ashley and passed unanimously (7-0). 3. Discussion/Action Item: Bicycle/Pedestrian Advocacy Groups meetings and updates Ms. Mortinger asked BAC members who had attended meetings to provide an update. Ms. Paden shared that she had attended the Traffic Safety Commission at their April meeting. The groups seemed receptive to discussing future coordination. Mr. Girdler informed Mr. Woosely who staffs the TSC that the BAC would provide a formal letter to discuss coordination at a future meeting. BAC members agreed after future discussion that the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board and Sustainability Advisory Board should also be on the list of coordinating groups. A motion was made to direct staff to draft a letter to these groups by Ms. Hallberg, seconded by Mr. Hamby and passed unanimously. Ms. Mortinger reminded BAC members that the Lawrence Pedestrian Coalition members and the LiveWell Lawrence Healthy Built Environment Work Group both asked if the BAC would be willing to discuss the possibility of revised BAC bylaws for a joint bicycle/pedestrian committee. Ms. Mortinger asked the BAC members to clarify the intent of their coordination efforts and provide additional details of how they would like Ms. Mortinger and Mr. Bryan to work together to host a coordinated discussion. Members agreed that the communication would be an important low hanging fruit where each group could share their work plan and find issues where there could be a common unified voice for active transportation. Members discussed what their role is in regard to advisory status with the Lawrence City Commission and their concern that items aren t coming to the BAC for their recommendations in a timely fashion, often at the last minute, after all the planning work has been done or not at all. This feeds into what some members feel like is a lack of relevance. Mr. Girdler reminded members that other groups got behind a single project and created political and community support by attending commission meetings and those of other groups, such as neighborhood groups. Members expressed their concern over the lack of priority list of improvements from the BAC and asked staff to add this to next month s agenda. Each member should bring a list of their top 5 improvements so the group can prioritize. Members discussed the options for coordinating at different levels and agreed that education and communication would be fundamental to being timely and help maintain a more unified voice for bicycle & pedestrian issues. Mr. Bryan mentioned to the BAC that the members of the LiveWell Healthy Built Environment Work Group are carrying out the community s health plan when they set their agenda. Ms. Mortinger mentioned that both T2040 and the new Countywide Bikeway System Plan have a plethora of Page 1 of 3
actions in all the 5 E s (Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Evaluation) that are part of the community s vision. 4. Discussion Item: LPD Accident Report Presentation In response to the BAC Safety Concerns letter sent in the fall of 2013, the MPO staff facilitated a meeting of public safety officials. As a result, there wasn t much support to commit additional time to do additional safety analysis without additional funding for the activity. At that time, Mr. Ashley committed to presenting to the BAC an overview of KDOT Motor Vehicle Accident Form 850A. (The presentation pdf can be found at lawrenceks.org/assets/mpo/bac/2014/accidentreportpresentation.pdf). The State accident report form is completed for motor vehicle crashes as a civil liability issue. The presentation covered how bicycle crashes are reported on accident reports and how they may be documented in other ways. We learned that there is no coding for bicyclists on the KDOT Accident Form 850A and that all bicyclists are coded as pedestrians (equestrians are coded as pedestrians too). Traffic law depicts bicyclists as vehicles and bicyclists and pedestrians have vastly different operating characteristics. This way of coding bicycle crashes seemed odd to BAC members. The group had a discussion about this and realized that unless the crash involves a car or truck and a serious injury or fatality that a bicycle crash may not be documented on an accident report. This creates an underreporting of bike crashes and treats them quite differently than car crashes. Mr. Ashley also shared the local Lawrence ordinance that requires any bicyclist injury accident or bicycle related accident with over $50 damage to be reported to the Lawrence Police Department. 17-701 DUTY TO REPORT BICYCLE ACCIDENTS. It shall be the duty of every person riding a bicycle to make a report to the Police Department when such bicycle is involved in any accident resulting in injuries to any person or damage to any property in excess of the sum of $50 and to make such report within twenty-four (24) hours after such accident. (Ord. 5172, 17-701) However, after some discussion BAC members realized that the ordinance doesn t have a standard for how that type of accident is reported and documented. According to Mr. Ashley, some officers take the verbal report and thank the caller; others at their discretion file an information report and information reports are unable to be easily queried for bicycle related information. BAC members also noted that most bicyclists, like themselves aren t aware of this City ordinance and the inability to query them is also an underreporting of bicycle crashes. BAC members thanked Mr. Ashley for his presentation and indicated that more needs to be done to collect crash data that truly reflects what is occurring in our community. BAC members also indicated that there is a perceived bias against bicyclists in all crashes and this perception doesn t help encourage bicyclists. Members also discussed other issues that lead to crash factors such as sidewalk closings and reroutes for bicyclists and pedestrians and issues like weather and maintenance. Members agreed that community input about safety and the perception of safety would be fundamental to a safety analysis particularly one where education and enforcement would be primary recommendations, along with improving the reporting standards. 5. Discussion Item: Bike Month and BAC Hosted Ride Ms. Mortinger shared with BAC members copies of last year s proclamations, letter to downtown and major employers, and bike month poster while asking members to attend to represent the BAC at the commissions when they were going to be scheduled. Ms. Mortinger also reminded BAC members that they wanted to schedule a ride with Lawrence City Commissioners and asked for Page 2 of 3
some members to lead the coordination of that ride. Mr. Anderson, Ms. Hallberg and Ms. Becker said they would coordinate the event and route. 6. Other Business/ Updates Bicycle Rideability Map- Ms. Mortinger asked members to provide comments back to her on the final draft Rideability map layer. Traffic Skills 101 www.bikeed.org Ms. Mortinger informed the BAC that in an attempt to meet the requirements to get someone certified with the League of American Bicyclists as a League Certified Instructor that some members had taken the first two steps by taking the online biked.org course and then worked with the Topeka Community Cycle Project and League Instructor Alan Apel in Topeka to complete the on the road portion of Traffic Skills 101. SRTS Application- Ms. Mortinger shared with the BAC that the Health Department, USD 497, MPO and City of Lawrence were coordinating on an application for Safe Routes To School planning in the City of Lawrence. Earth Day Table in South Park is this Saturday. Members signed up for times at the table. 7. Public Comments There were none. 8. Adjournment of Meeting and Announcement of Next Meeting The meeting ended at 7:00 p.m. The Next Meeting is scheduled for May 20, 2014 at 5PM. Page 3 of 3
LEGENDS DRIVE INVERNESS DRIVE wakarusa drive, north of oread west to north of inverness drive, reconstruction Plan Sta 120+00 to 125+50 PROJECT NO. PW1341
Wakarusa Dr Bob Billings Pkwy.
Subject: MPO Pedestrian Plan The Lawrence Douglas County MPO will soon be kicking off a regional pedestrian planning process to explore sidewalk and pedestrian mobility issues in Lawrence, Eudora, Baldwin City and Lecompton. The MPO has drafted a committee to oversee the work of the study. Below is a description of each study part and attached is the list of steering committee participants. Please let the MPO staff know if you or someone from your organization Regional Pedestrian Plan - Steering Committee MPO approved 4-17-14 Organization Designated by can serve on the pedestrian Independence Inc. - Staff Position planning committee by June 13 th by replying to this email with the Independence Inc. Accessibility Taskforce KDOT Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator Taskforce Appointed Position appointed representative s name and contact information. Lawrence - Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee Lawrence - Douglas County MPO Policy Board Board Appointment Lawrence - Douglas County Traffic Safety Commission History & Existing Conditions- Over the last five to ten years the MPO staff and other local officials have sporadically worked on a sidewalk inventory and other pedestrian facilities planning in the region to identify gaps in the pedestrian network. Work on pedestrian system planning has been spotty with infrastructure needs and conditions mostly being studied as part of larger corridor Lawrence Pedestrian Coalition Livewell Healthy Built Environment Work Group Public Transit Advisory Committee Regional Transit Advisory Committee University of Kansas - KU Accessibility & ADA Education University of Kansas - Student City of Eudora Baldwin City Lecompton Haskell Indian Nations University Staff Lawrence - Douglas County Health Department Lawrence - Douglas County Health Department Lawrence Public Works Lawrence Public Works Lawrence - Douglas County MPO Lawrence - Douglas County MPO Lawrence Transit Committee Appointment Commission Appointment Coalition Appointment Work Group Appointment Committee Appointment Committee Appointment Position Student Senate Appointment City Appointment City Appointment City Appointment Appointment or project plans. A holistic system wide plan for pedestrian mobility around the region has not been successfully completed yet. Several pedestrian issues have since been discussed recently as part of the growing Complete Streets discussions in and around Lawrence (leading to the 2012 adoption of the Lawrence Complete Streets Policy 1 ) and as part of the MPO s Multimodal Studies Project 2 approved in early 2014. Active transport has become a discussion topic both locally in the Lawrence Area and on the national level as the relationships between public health and transportation choices are talked about more often. A complete assessment of the pedestrian/sidewalk environment in Douglas County still needs to be done, and with such sidewalk related discussion going on now it looks like 2014 will be a good year to complete a Regional Pedestrian Plan. Plan Scoping & Project Boundaries - The creation of a coordinated Regional Pedestrian Plan includes strategies for making pedestrian facility investments and for confirming the importance 1 http://www.lawrenceks.org/mpo/complete_streets 2 http://www.lawrenceks.org/mpo/study
of the walking environment in the multimodal transportation system. The Steering Committee will guide the staff s efforts which are planned to include: Work to update and/or create a countywide inventory of sidewalks and sidewalk conditions and map that information. Work to develop an online interactive mapping tool for public input about multimodal transportation infrastructure conditions and planning issues. Work to coordinate pedestrian planning efforts with the Countywide Bicycle System Plan, the Fixed Route Transit and Pedestrian Accessibility Study, and the Metropolitan Transportation Plan Transportation 2040 3 (T2040). The Regional Pedestrian Plan will identify a pedestrian network and recommendations for roadways designated as collector and above on the MPO-KDOT-FHWA Roadway Functional Classification Map 4. There are some basic expectations of things that the plan should address including: Identification of best practices for pedestrian facility construction and maintenance and their possible use in Douglas County. Evaluation of the existing pedestrian facility conditions and identifying gaps in the sidewalk/pathway network on roadways designated collector and above at a minimum. Identification of potential walking routes that include access to major destinations and links to other modes of transportation, including bus service, and park & ride lots. Drafting of new or revised policies, programs and projects designed to make Douglas County more Pedestrian/Walk Friendly in the 5 E s (Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement and Evaluation). Developing an implementation plan, including funding sources and partnerships. Identifying a set of action steps for the local governments to continue integrating pedestrian planning into community and transportation planning processes, and to complete identified projects. This effort to create a regional scale of system planning for the pedestrian infrastructure along all regionally significant roadways (i.e. collector and higher class roads) within Douglas County will be an open process that welcomes public input and adheres to the MPO s Public Participation Plan 5. 3 http://www.lawrenceks.org/mpo/t2040 4 http://www.lawrenceks.org/assets/mpo/t2040/fcnclass2012.pdf 5 http://www.lawrenceks.org/mpo/public_participation