Category: Lawrence Biking (Page 26 of 34)

Lawrence Annual Helmet Fair Scheduled as part of Spring Game Weekend Activities

April 19, 2012 /

The Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Department will again host their annual Helmet Fair from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 28 in conjunction with the Kansas Athletics men’s football

Spring Game. The Helmet Fair will be located on the KU Campus in Lot 91, southeast of Memorial Stadium between the Spencer Art Museum and the practice fields.

Admission to the Helmet Fair is free and open to the general public. At the Helmet Fair, LDCFM staff will be on hand to provide free bike helmets (custom-fitted for any child 15 and younger with an adult, while supplies last), bike inspections and a safe ride course. Free hot dogs and soft drinks will also be provided to participants.

Staff will also be available to educate parents and caregivers about safety tips including rules of riding on the road, bike trail etiquette, booster seat safety, bike safety and pool safety.

Kansas Athletics provides other family-friendly activities for the day which include:

– 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. – Football Clinic for 1^st through 6^th grade students. See www.kuathletics.comfor more information.

– 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Hy-Vee Hawk Zone open for kids, located in the football practice fields north of Memorial Stadium

– 1:00 p.m. – Kansas Football Spring game at Memorial Stadium (gates open at Noon)

The LDCFM Helmet Fair is sponsored by Kansas Athletics, Laird Noller, Safe Kids Douglas County, McDonalds, State Farm Insurance, Sunflower Outdoor & Bike, Douglas County Medical Society, Ranjbar Orthodontics, Lawrence Mountain Bike Club, Dillons and the Lawrence Pilots Club, Inc.

Lawrence Approves Policy in Effort to Make Streets More Pedestrian-friendly

March 28, 2012 /

Repost from Chad Lawhorn's article in the LJW.

More sidewalks, more bike paths, more ways for people to get across town without cars should be a top-of-mind issue for future city planners, Lawrence city commissioners agreed Tuesday. Commissioners at their weekly meeting unanimously approved a Complete Streets policy that aims to make future city streets more pedestrian-friendly.

The policy calls for future street plans to include several features such as sidewalks, shared-use paths, bicycle lanes, paved shoulders, street trees, additional landscaping, accessible curbs, pedestrian refuge islands and other features.

But the policy is not concrete. The document gives future city officials the ability to exempt projects from the complete streets policy if “feasibility and funding” concerns arise.

Commissioners, though, said they thought the new policy would be particularly helpful when the city begins to rehabilitate older streets.

“I think the reason we haven’t added more of these elements when we retrofit streets is because we didn’t really have a plan or a mantra that spells out what the benefits can be,” said City Commissioner Mike Dever.

Lawrence commission to consider policy promoting street safety and physical activity 3/27

March 23, 2012 /

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.

New: Bike Rentals in Lawrence!

February 29, 2012 /

Saw this in Chad Lawhorn's Town Talk on LJworld.com:

The trio of burgers, billiards and beer always has been high on my list of favorite tavern-like items beginning with ‘B.’ But how about brie, bikes and beer? A new North Lawrence business is set to give it a try.

Craig Nowatzke — who for years ran a street cart hot dog stand at Ninth and Mass. streets — is set to open Gaslight Gardens at 317 N. Second St. in the little stone building just south of Johnny’s Tavern.

The business is going for a European beer garden theme, with a twist. The establishment also will rent bicycles by the hour for folks who want to ride along the adjacent Kansas River levee trail, or perhaps even take the bikes into Downtown Lawrence. As for the brie, well, the tavern won’t have a grill, so Nowatzke plans to serve some meats and cheeses and baguette sandwiches.

Nowatzke is a North Lawrence resident and a big fan of the levee trail system. He also said he’s a big fan of beer and patios.

“I have taken a couple of trips to Europe, and it is all about small places and outdoor patios,” Nowatzke said. “I realized that’s really my style too.”

The Gaslight space — the name derives from the Gaslight Tavern, a counterculture icon that existed on Mount Oread in the ’60s and ’70s — is notoriously small. The legal occupancy of the space is 39, but you all would have to be really good friends to get that many in the room. Nowatzke said 25 is a more reasonable number, but he said the revamped patio area will easily hold 40 people.

The new “biker” bar, though, will mean an end to Nowatzke’s days of running the corner hot dog stand. Nowatzke over the years became a bit of a downtown fixture. Nowatzke, who uses a wheelchair, would draw quite a bit of attention as he would set up his Sun Dog hot dog stand, and I can attest he had quite a following. I spent one very hot day with him in June 2009. It still makes my Top 5 list of articles I’ve most enjoyed. Nowatzke said he is looking to sell the stand, and hopes somebody will keep the corner business going.

As for Gaslight Gardens, he said he plans to have a grand opening on St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Just so you know, I’ll do green beer, but I won’t do green cheese. Well, if I had enough green beer, I might.

Revolution Racing’s 17th Annual Spring Fling Crit Ceries Saturdays Feb 25-March 24

February 16, 2012 /

The groundhog may have seen his shadow and delayed spring but that is not stopping Revolution Racing's month long Spring Fling Criterium Series.

It's scheduled for Saturdays starting February 25 and running through March 24th located in Campground #1 within Clinton State Park which is immediately Southwest

of Lawrence Kansas.

This is the 17th annual crit series and the kick-off to the local biking season. Even if you are not planning to ride it's a fun experience to go out and cheer the riders along.

They've got a flier out and you can download it HERE.