Category: Lawrence Biking (Page 3 of 34)

Lawrence’s Bicycle Boulevards final conceptual design available online

Bicycle Boulevards final conceptual designThe final conceptual design for the 13th Street and 21st Street Bicycle Boulevards is now available to view on the City of Lawrence website, here: lawrenceks.org/bike-blvds
 
The Bicycle Boulevards design has evolved to account for safety considerations, best practices, and public input. Feedback from previous open houses in February and March 2019 as well as from Lawrence Listens surveys was incorporated into the final conceptual design.
 
Community members are invited to review the final conceptual design online or at one of two open houses being held this week. Open houses will be hosted in a come-and-go format where attendees can review and discuss the final conceptual design with project staff and the design consultant. Both open houses will cover the same content.
 
Open houses will be held on Wednesday, May 15 and Thursday, May 16 at the following locations:

  • Wednesday, May 15 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
    Meeting in the City Commission Room at City Hall (6 E. 6th Street)
  • Thursday, May 16 from 4 – 6 p.m.
    Meeting at the East Lawrence Recreation Center (1245 E. 15th Street)

Feedback on the final conceptual design can be provided in person at an open house event or online through Lawrence Listens. Go to the Lawrence Listens web page and select the “Bicycle Boulevards – Final Conceptual Design” survey to share your input.
 
Project staff will present the final conceptual design to the Transportation Commission on Monday, June 3. A presentation to the City Commission will follow.
 
Questions on the Bicycle Boulevards project can be directed to:

  • Amanda Sahin, engineering program manager, City of Lawrence: [email protected]
  • Jessica Mortinger, transportation planning manager, Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization: [email protected]

Lawrence, KS named a best city for bikes in 2019 PlacesForBikes City Ratings

PeopleForBikes released its second annual ratings of the top U.S. cities for bicycling, and the City of Lawrence is excited to share that it was ranked sixth overall.    

The PlacesForBikes City Ratings are a data-driven analysis that evaluates the safety, appeal, and infrastructure of bicycling in more than 500 communities. Rankings are designed to show cities where they stand — and provide insight into where infrastructure investments should be made to build complete, connected bike networks.
 
The 2019 PlacesForBikes City Ratings scored 510 U.S. cities based on five areas:

  • Ridership – How many people ride bikes?
  • Safety – How safe is it to ride bikes?
  • Network – How easy is it for people to get where they need to go?
  • Acceleration – How fast is the bike network expanding?
  • Reach – How well does the network serve all neighborhoods in the community?

Lawrence performed best in the safety and acceleration categories, with scores of 3.9 and 3.8, respectively. The city scorecard specifically noted high scores for growth in bike facilities and events as well as for a low number of bicycle-related fatalities and injuries. All individual scores combined to result in a comprehensive score of 3.3, which earned Lawrence its ranking of sixth overall.
 
“We’re excited that Lawrence was recognized as one of the best places in the country for bikes,” shared Jessica Mortinger, transportation planning manager, Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization. “The top ranking recognizes the work that our team – and a variety of organizations throughout Lawrence – has put in to make our city bicycle-friendly. We look forward to continuing those efforts and providing even greater bike-riding opportunities in the future.”
 
Data for the ratings comes from existing sources (including the U.S. Census American Community Survey and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System), as well as new sources developed by the PeopleForBikes team to capture city-specific data based on mapping, city planning information and survey responses from community members. From these sources, 184 calculations are performed per city to determine individual category scores, as well as a city or town’s overall score. Read more about the methodology here.
 
“We focused this year’s efforts on engaging more cities to improve accuracy of ratings,” said Jennifer Boldry, PeopleForBikes director of research. “Better accuracy provides a more valuable tool that helps cities benchmark, set goals and measure progress.”
 
Lawrence will be able to utilize the additional insights from the PeopleForBikes report to continue improving the city’s bicycle infrastructure. The scorecard outlines different ways Lawrence can improve the score for next year, including launching/expanding public bike share and partnering with community groups for outreach to assess transportation and recreation needs.
 
City Ratings is a key component of the PlacesForBikes program, which provides measurement tools, guidance, peer networking, and storytelling to help U.S. cities plan, build and promote great places to ride. PlacesForBikes is supported by a generous grant from Trek Bicycle Corporation, as well as contributions from other bike businesses, foundations and individuals.
 
For complete results and additional program details, please visit cityratings.peopleforbikes.org.

Lawrence hosting open houses on bicycle boulevards design

Community members are invited to attend open houses on the final conceptual design developed for the 21st Street and 13th Street Bicycle Boulevards. Open houses will be held on Wednesday, May 15 and Thursday, May 16 at the following locations:

  • Wednesday, May 15 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
    Meeting in the City Commission Room at City Hall (6 E. 6th Street)
  • Thursday, May 16 from 4 – 6 p.m.
    Meeting at the East Lawrence Recreation Center (1245 E. 15th Street)

Open houses will be hosted in a come-and-go format where attendees can review and discuss the final conceptual design with project staff and the design consultant. Both open houses will cover the same content.
 
The Bicycle Boulevards design has evolved to account for safety considerations, best practices, and public input. Feedback from previous open houses in February and March 2019 as well as from Lawrence Listens surveys was incorporated into the final conceptual design.
 
For anyone unable to attend an open house, the Bicycle Boulevards design will also be made available for review online at lawrenceks.org/bike-blvds starting the week of May 13. Feedback on the final conceptual design can be provided online through a Lawrence Listens survey. The survey will be available once the final conceptual design has been shared online.
 
Project staff will present the final conceptual design to Transportation Commission on Monday, June 3. A presentation to City Commission will follow.
 
Questions on the Bicycle Boulevards project can be directed to:

  • Amanda Sahin, engineering program manager, City of Lawrence: [email protected]
  • Jessica Mortinger, transportation planning manager, Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization: [email protected]

Lawrence receives a Transportation Alternatives Program grant for part of the Lawrence Loop

The City of Lawrence is excited to announce that the Municipal Services and Operations Department has received a Transportation Alternatives (TA) Program grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation for Fiscal Year 2020. The grant, in the amount of $480,000, requires a twenty percent match and was provided to aid in the completion of a ten foot shared use path for sections of the Lawrence Loop from 8th Street to 11th Street and 29th Street from Burroughs Creek Trail to Haskell Avenue.

Construction of the Lawrence Loop began over 20 years ago with completion of the west-leg of the South Lawrence Trafficway. Segments have been added incrementally through Transportation Alternatives (TA) Program and other grants.

In response to receiving news of the grant award, City Engineer David Cronin said, "The creation of the 22 mile Lawrence Loop has involved the whole community. As many know, we're down to the last four sections of the Loop which comprise about four and a half miles (map). This grant will help us continue to make progress to complete the Lawrence Loop and implement our community's Priority Bikeway Network.”

According to the Kansas Department of Transportation, information about the other TA grant recipients is forthcoming. 

Thanks For Coming Out To The Fall Community Bike Ride!

On behalf of all of us at Lawrence Central Rotary, a big thank you!

On Saturday we hosted the 2nd ride of our "Community Bike Ride" initiative. In spite of warm weather, overlap with the KU football game, and a variety of other options, we were able to total 79 participants (by counting the waivers). We had another successful helmet giveaway – as well as providing neon safety vests and shirts.

For the year (both rides), we had 247 participants, we gave away 107 helmets, 98 vests, and 105 shirts (with shirt and vest totals only limited by our inventory). And, importantly, we had another successful year without injuries. We heard multiple people share that it was "…my first time on this trail!" and more than one family share that they were back with kids who had graduated from our training-wheel takeoff clinic (that Jane Huesemann leads). 

Speaking for the group – each time we help fit a child (or adult) with a helmet – provide them with a bright (neon) vest or bright shirt – we know we are proactively promoting well being (safety). It means a lot to us – and we could not pull this off without your help.

Below is a gallery of pictures (thank you Lynn O'Neal, Tobin Neis, and the folks at Friends of Lawrence Area Trails). Our fall ride that started at the Haskell Stadium parking lot and went up along the Burroughs Creek trail and back.

We are looking forward to coming back in 2019 and we hope you choose to be along for the ride!

Steve

Rideperson, 

Community Bike Rides

www.lawrencecentralrotary.org

gallerygallery

Pictures from a community bicycle ride organized by the Lawrence Central Rotary Club. Starting at the Haskell Memorial Stadium and riding up and back on the Burroughs Creek Trail

Posted by Ride Lawrence on Monday, September 17, 2018

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