Tuesday, September 1, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 5
Lawrence to ask state to help fund new bicycle paths
By Chris Fickett
Kansan staff writer
The Lawrence Bicycle Advisory Committee is getting the ball rolling to build more bicycle paths in the city.
The committee has recommended five projects to the city for consideration to apply for funding from the Kansas Department of Transportation.
"They've opened up a lot of funds that previously weren't available," he said.
Clay Comfort, chairman of the committee, said the amount of federal funding for bicycle projects has increased in the last 10 years.
ernment provides 80 percent of the funding, and the local government must provide 20 percent. The Lawrence City Commission will have to decide whether the city will apply for the funding and what projects to include in the submission.
commended bicycle/pedestrian pathways
However, Comfort said there was a possibility that Lawrence could be in competition with more projects from around the state than last year but that he still was hopeful.
L) Along Kasold Drive from Clinton Parkway to the South Lawrence Traffway recreational path.
2. ) Along Burlington Northern Railroad from 11th to 23rd Streets.
4.1) Connection from the end of
premier traffic
way north to Farmer's
country town.
3. ) From the South Lawrence Trafficway recreational path to Clinton Lake service road
Kristi Elliott / KANSAN
5. ) Along proposed eastern leg of South Lawrence Trafficway.
sull was hopeful.
"We have a reasonable expectation that Lawrence will get at least one bicycle project funded,"he said.
The one project that will probably be included on the application to the state is a pathway along Kasold Drive from Clinton Parkway to the South Lawrence Trafficway recreational path.
Comfort said this recommendation was the least challenging of the five because the city already owned the land on which the path would be built.
owned the land on which you park. Comfort said the city would probably approve the Kasold Drive pathway for submission to the state because it had been approved by the city's technical advisory committee. He said the real test would be in Topeka, where legislators will decide who gets the money.
"The uncertainty ahead is: Will it compete at the state level?" he said.
the state level. he said
Scott Jacobsen, Littleton, Colo., senior, said building a path along Kasold Drive was a waste of the city's money.
the city's money.
"It's not in the best interest of the community," he said. "Anyone who's at the riding caliber to use those paths would be riding on the highway anyway."
Jacobsen said there were more and better-planned bike lanes in Fort Collins, Colo., and Denver, where he had lived.
Comfort said he hoped other projects would receive attention in the future, although they were not being considered by the city for submission for state funding now.
The committee has been discussing the possibility of a path along the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks from 23rd Street near Haskell Indian Nations University to 11th Street near downtown. The land is not owned by the city, and the committee would have to negotiate with the railroad company to build the path.
Comfort said the reason for including this project in their recommendations was to bring areas where bike paths are needed to the city's attention.
"We wanted to surface all of these projects and keep banging away at them," he said.
Government work guides new counselor
Robinson will use experience from job to assist chancellor
Reggie Robinson returned to the University of Kansas from a five-year stint in the United States Department of Justice without the cynicism and apathy that seems to loom over the federal government.
By Jason Pearce
Kansas staff writer
Kansan staff writer
Robinson, who is Chancellor Robert Hemenway's counselor on external affairs, witnessed the Justice Department from the inside when he worked in a number of senior posts between 1993 and 1998.
Robinson, who earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University, attributed current skeptical and apathetic outlooks on government to a basic principle of the country - diversity.
"There are many different people who don't look at things the same way and the issues are complicated," Robinson said. "Our government is a complicated arrangement, but the founding fathers wanted it to be that way."
Robinson joined the Justice Department when he was accepted into the White House Fellows program, which gives people of talent a one-year opportunity to serve in various governmental departments in Washington D.C.
After several interviews, Robinson joined the department as special assistant to Attorney General Janet Reno.
Robinson said he worked on civil rights and youth violence initiatives and he advised Reno on those issues.
"I really immersed myself into youth
violence by calling experts around the country and asking them what I should know and read," he said.
His work in this area helped to pave the way for the crime bill of 1994, which Congress passed and President Bill Clinton approved.
reggie Robinson, the new counselor on external affairs for the chancellor, has just come back from a job with the U.S. Justice Department. Contributed photo.
The crime bill allocated more funds for additional police officers, drug courts and support programs aimed at preventing violence against women.
"Early evaluations of the program say that the involvement of the judge makes a difference in getting people off drugs," he said.
The goal of drug courts is to break the cycle of repeat offenders of illegal drugs, which Robinson said bogs down the judicial process. The courts, which are located in many cities, require drug offenders to seek treatment and to meet with a judge on a regular basis who assesses the progress of the offender.
Programs where he directed efforts to implement drug courts throughout the nation.
While in this position, Robinson also played a role in the department's work on a proposed victim's rights constitutional amendment.
"People don't have a sense of the volume of important decisions that have to be decided everyday by the Justice Department," he said.
"I think the University can have even more of an impact of solving problems around the state."
At the end of his fellowship, Reno appointed Robinson deputy assistant attorney general for the Office of Justice
"I think the crime bill has made a real difference in public safety," he said.
Reggie Robinson counselor on external affairs
During his first year, Robinson also worked on immigration policy issues, writing speeches for the attorney general and managing the judicial selection process for new federal judges.
"I think the University can have even more of an impact of solving problems around the state," he said.
Hemenway said he created the position this semester as a way to better focus on the University's external relations with state government and Kansas residents.
"There is an interest right now in the devolution of federal powers coming back to the state," Hemenway said. "There is a greater emphasis of universities serving the states that they are apart of."
Hemenway said Robinson was a firstrate person who is very intelligent, effective and has a broad vision of the world.
"When you get the chance to hire someone who is truly excellent like Reggie, you jump at the chance," Hemenway said.
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