Below is a repost from the Lawrence Complete Streets site:

 

 

The Complete Streets Policy is scheduled for consideration by the Lawrence Commission on Tuesday, March 27, as the third item under the regular agenda section.

The policy seeks to create an equitable, balanced, and effective transportation system that encourages walking, bicycling, and transit use, to improve health and reduce environmental impacts, while simultaneously promoting safety for all users of streets.

Through its Lawrence Complete Streets public education campaign, LiveWell Lawrence has been highlighting the value of streets designed for young and old, motorists, bicyclists, walkers, wheelchair users, transit riders and businesses. LiveWell Lawrence is a community initiative focused on making it easy for Lawrence residents to eat healthy foods and be more physically active.

Members of the Lawrence Complete Streets Committee have worked with Lawrence planning and public works staff to review and revise the policy first presented to the Lawrence commission on Oct. 25, 2011. Changes incorporated into the final version of the policy include the following:

  • The definition of street Users was expanded to include mobility device users, neighborhood electric vehicle users and utility tricyclists
  • The applicability of the policy to Street Maintenance was clarified
  • The applicability of the policy to both public and private transportation infrastructure was illuminated
  • A section on data collection, progress reporting and public input was added

Support for the adoption of a Complete Streets policy is found in a number of City of Lawrence documents, including the Climate Protection Plan, the Peak Oil Plan and the environmental chapter of Horizon 2020, the City’s comprehensive land use plan. Additionally, the Policy Board of the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization passed a resolution in support of Complete Streets.

The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department has facilitated the Lawrence Complete Streets Committee on behalf of LiveWell Lawrence. Members of the Lawrence Complete Streets Committee represent a broad cross-section of the community, and the committee includes participants who serve in an advisory role. The diverse composition of committee was a deliberate effort to be inclusive of the divergent views among Lawrence residents, the pro-business community and environmentalists. The committee includes representation, for example, from the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, the Lawrence Home Builders Association and Parsons Brinkerhoff as well as Independence, Inc., the Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods, the Lawrence Central Rotary Club, the Sustainability Action Network, the Lawrence Sustainability Advisory Board and the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.