PAGE 284
Thursday, February 11, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
Tuesday's forum last chance for comments on bike lanes
Ryan Largo, Gurne, Ill., junior, takes advantage of the nice weather by riding along Jayhawk Boulevard. The last meeting for the public's comments on the bike study is 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Jayhawk Room in the Kansas Union. Photo by Gus Koffler/KANSAN
By Heather Woodward Kansan staff writer
The city's effort to make Lawrence a safer place for bicyclists is in its final planning stage.
Aaron Bartlett, Lawrence transportation planner, said he hoped students would attend the meeting.
The last meeting for public comments on the city's bicycle/vehicle compatibility study is 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Jayhawk Room in the Kansas Union.
"I'm hoping we'll get our biggest turnout yet," he said. "We've moved the meeting to the University, and students are one of the bigger groups of biceps users."
Matt Holtkamp, Shawnee senior, said he often rode his bike on city streets.
"Obviously, the situation for bikers is pretty bad," Holtkamp said. "Tennessee and Kentucky streets are both one-way and very fast-paced. It can be really scary for bikers. Everyone has been pressing for bike lanes, which of course is a good idea."
Clay Comfort, chairman of the Bicycle Advisory Committee, said that about a month after Tuesday's meeting, the committee and the consultant conducting the study would present their findings to the Lawrence City Commission.
"The main concern we've heard is about the density of auto traffic, and that the traffic is exceeding the speed limit, which is causing cyclists to feel unsafe," Comfort said. "The degree and number of comments that we've received has really surprised me, pleasantly so."
The commission approved the $24,500 study last summer. Since then, a consultant from TranSystems Corporation, which is located in Kansas City, Mo., has collected data about the physical and operational characteristics of 11 Lawrence streets to create a bicycle compatibility index.
The index measures street characteristics such as width, speed limit and amount of traffic to determine how comfortable the
street is for cyclists. It will be used to determine whether bike lanes, bike routes or bike paths should be created, or if the road should remain as it is.
A bike lane runs beside automobile traffic but is set apart by a painted line, while a bike route is a road marked by a bike route sign. A bike path is a separate trail set apart from vehicular traffic.
"We understood that people felt afraid for their safety, which is why we've endeavored to create compatibility on as many streets as we can afford to do." Comfort said. "Trying to reconcile the feelings of the cycling public with the resources available — that is the trick that we're going to have to figure out how to perform."
Bartlett said that he had been compiling data from public surveys that the city had distributed at the first public meeting Dec. 15. He said that he received about 30 percent of the surveys back. Bartlett will announce the survey results at Tuesday's meeting.
"We're basically in the third phase of this study," Bartlett said. "We've taken a look at the different options, and now we're trying to apply them. The thing is that sometimes to put in a bike lane you have to remove parking. This meeting will give people a chance to say something about that."
The city is studying the following streets:
BIKE LANES
- Connecticut Street (Seventh Street to 15th Street)
- Kentucky Street (Sixth Street to 19th Street)
- Louisiana Street [31st Street to KU campus]
- Naismith Drive (23rd Street to KU campus)
- Tennessee Street (Sixth Street to 19th Street)
- Vermont Street (Seventh Street to 21 st Street)
- Sixth Street (Downtown to Wakarusa Drive)
- Ninth Street (Mississippi Street to Massachusetts Street)
- 11th Street (Mississippi Street to Haskell Avenue)
- Haskell Avenue) 15th Street (east of KU campus)
- 19th Street (Louisiana Street to east city limits)
At Southwestern Bell, we believe the open marketplace works best
It doesn't really matter what kind of service you're providing. Whether it's fresh vegetables or advanced telecommunications,it's been proven time and time again: an open marketplace with fair competition works best.
It works best for vendors, who can draw on their strengths to compete one may have the broadest variety, another, the most efficient service, a third,the lowest prices.
Michael Scott
But even more importantly, an open marketplace works for customers, who may choose a vendor based on their needs.
For more than 115 years, Southwestern Bell has been working to give Kansans outstanding local telephone service. We've done our best to give you the best service and the lowest prices that we could under the regulatory system.
That system changed with passage of the 1996 Federal Telecommunications Act, which was meant to open up the telecommunications industry nationwide.
Since then, Southwestern Bell has been working to show how much more we can do in an open marketplace, given the opportunity.
But the marketplace isn't fulfilling its potential — yet. Kansans are beginning to see some of the benefits of telecommunications competition — but not all of them. For example, Southwestern Bell has invested millions of dollars to upgrade our state's telecommunications network and provide support for innovative new programs in Kansas schools, libraries and hospitals. Today, almost 60 companies may compete with Southwestern Bell for local telephone customers. But even more work must be done to let the free market do its job.
Soon, Kansans should be able to have even more telecommunications providers and products to choose from and the low prices that come with open competition. The Kansas Corporation Commission has a role to play to advance creation of an open marketplace. It's time for us - and every other telephone company that wants to compete - to have that opportunity.It's time to trust in the power of the marketplace.
Southwestern Bell is ready to help move Kansas forward, so customers have access to the benefits of real competition for local and long-distance service.
Michael Scott
Michael Scott Director External Affairs
Meet us in the marketplace. Now.
Your friendly neighborhood global communications company.
Southwestern Bell