Over 200+ riders and volunteers (a record attendance) came out Saturday morning, July 21st for the 8th annual Summer Larence Community Bike Ride at the Lawrence Rotary Arboretum.

Lawrence Central Rotary's annual event aimed at getting people out to enjoy the outdoors, by sponsoring the leisurely bike rides of various lengths starting from the Rotary Arboretum. 

Sponsors from around the community and region help make this event possible, and one of the highlights of the event is that people in need of a safety helmet can be fitted on site. T-shirts and high visibility safety vests are also handed out to attendees so after the event when they are biking around the community they can be more easily seen. 

If you missed this summer's event the good news is that it will be held again this fall on Lawrence's Eastside.  The Fall Community Bike Ride is scheduled for Saturday, Sept 15th starting from the Haskell Indian Nations Stadium Parking Lot.  The ride will be along the Burrough's Creek Trail.  For more information check back or our social media outlets. 

Here's a gallery of pictures taken by Lynn O'Neal, Leilani Tuttle, and Tobin Neis.

STUDY SESSION AGENDA –

Public comment related to work session topics will be allowed at the end of each discussion item. Each person will be limited to three (3) minutes. Individuals are asked to come to the microphone, sign in, and state their name and address.

1. How Lawrence Measures Up: STAR Community Rating System, Bicycle Friendly Community, and Walk Friendly Community

STAR Community Rating System

Lawrence is the FIRST community in Kansas to receive a 4-STAR rating for national excellence in sustainability. The STAR Communities framework evaluates local governments on economic, environmental and social factors to measure sustainability and rates communities out of 5 STARs.

The STAR Community Rating System (STAR) is the first national certification program to recognize sustainable communities. STAR was built by and for local governments. The STAR framework integrates economic, environmental, and social aspects of sustainability. There are 7 goal areas, and 44 objectives by which cities are evaluated. These include both actions of the city government and the community at large.

We undertook the STAR certification not only to assess our progress towards sustainability, but also to set targets for moving forward. The STAR framework provides a nationally-recognized set of best practices for sustainability, and we look forward to continuing to improve!

For more information about the score and the STAR certification process, check out the City’s STAR website: www.lawrenceks.org/sustainability/STAR.

Bicycle Friendly Community

The Bicycle Friendly Communities Campaign is an awards program administered by the League of American Bicyclists that recognizes municipalities that actively support bicycling. A Bicycle-Friendly Community provides safe accommodation for cycling and encourages its residents to bike for transportation and recreation. The City of Lawrence has been recognized as a Bicycle Friendly Community at the Bronze level since 2004.

In 2012, the City of Lawrence was re-designated at the Bronze level and the League of American Bicyclists provided feedback and suggestions to further promote bicycling in Lawrence. In 2016, the City of Lawrence was re-designated at the Bronze level and the League of American Bicyclists provided a Report Card.

Walk Friendly Community

The City of Lawrence received a “Silver” designation from the national Walk Friendly Communities program. Scores range from Bronze (lowest), Silver, Gold, to Platinum (highest). The Walk Friendly designation is based on community efforts to expand opportunities for walking and to improve pedestrian safety across a wide range of programs and activities, from planning and design to outreach and law enforcement. Report Card – Released April 25, 2017