Category: LiveWell Lawrence (Page 1 of 6)

Volunteer Request: Bike & Pedestrian Count on the Lawrence Loop

May 18, 2020 /

Looking for volunteers!

As a result of the COVID pandemic, Lawrence residents are out along the Lawrence Loop in unprecedented numbers. Our friends at FLAT (Friends of Lawrence Area Trails) are interested in getting a better idea of how much use of the Loop has increased, so FLAT is conducting a formal count of trail activity in early June!

They will be conducting 2-hour counts on Wednesday, June 3, and Saturday, June 6. If you've ever participated in the City of Lawrence/MPO bike/ped count, we're using that same method, and the tentative plan is to integrate these results into the MPO 2020 counts.

They need volunteers to make this happen! Please follow the link below to sign up for a slot. Detailed instructions will be provided after you've signed up.

Walking / running / biking on the Lawrence Loop is a great way for everyone to get out and enjoy nature. This project will help to show just how many Lawrencians take advantage of the community resource.

City of Lawrence awarded $1.47M in KDOT grants for Lawrence Loop, Safe Routes to School projects

February 28, 2020 /

Amazing news – the City of Lawrence was awarded two grants totaling $1,470,000 from the Kansas Department of Transportation as part of its Transportation Alternatives Program for Fiscal Year 2021.
Lawrence received a federal award of $1,070,000 for the Lawrence Loop project and an award of $400,000 for phase 2 of the Safe Routes to Schools project. Both projects are overseen by the City's Municipal Services & Operations Department. The Transportation Alternatives grants require a 20% local cash match.

“We are extremely excited to learn that we were awarded the grants for these two projects,” said City Engineer David Cronin. “Safe Routes to School and the Lawrence Loop are two high-priority community projects for improving multi-modal transportation. These grants will help us move forward with both.”

The Lawrence Loop grant will be used to help extend the existing Peterson Road shared-use path to Michigan Street, just a few blocks from the Burcham Park Trail. The Safe Routes to Schools grant will be used to complete phase 2 of the project, targeting routes to three different elementary schools.

“Kansans value safety in all modes of transportation, which is why it is an important element of the new FORWARD transportation program,” said KDOT Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz. “I’m pleased that these projects focus on improving safety for pedestrians and children walking to school.”

KDOT received 32 applications from eligible project sponsors and awarded a total of $8.6 million for 18 projects for Fiscal Year 2021. Lawrence is the only city that was awarded two separate grants.

Lawrence parents have another opportunity to share their thoughts on Safe Routes to School

December 17, 2019 /

Lawrence Public Schools, in partnership with the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department and the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization, is working on an updated city-wide Safe Routes to School plan for Lawrence. The next step in the development of an updated plan is to collect parent input on the desired components of a Safe Routes to School program.

The Be Active Safe Routes team is working with PTOs/PTAs and Site Councils* to gather parent input to help prioritize programs that will ultimately improve student travel to school and shape the vision of our city. We ask that all parents visit lawrenceks.org/safe-routes to fill out the worksheet packet for their school of interest. Parent input is vitally important even if their child does not currently walk or bike to school. In addition to parents, other interested Lawrence residents are invited to share their opinion by filling out the worksheet packet.

If you have any questions, please email: [email protected].

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

February 4, 2019 /

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 (m ap). 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.

New videos educate drivers and bicycle riders on how to share the road

January 31, 2019 /

As part of the development of the Lawrence Bike Plan, eight videos were produced. Celebrate the work of 28 volunteers and City staff in creating these valuable resources.

Bicycle safety education has historically only focused on teaching bicycle riders how to navigate the roadways safely. These videos offer a new perspective, one to which more people can relate, from the motor vehicle driver perspective modeled off The Bicycle Friendly Driver curriculum created by the City of Fort Collins, Colorado.

The curriculum aims to educate motorized vehicle drivers about how and why bicycle riders travel the roadways in the ways they do with the objective of developing a shared understanding for all users.

You can see the video series through this link https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzt8e_efB6wV3FdmE-FOVJa_RbEog_qvD