[Jayhawk-chapter] LJWorld: City Seeking Input on New Study of Bike, Transit and Other Multi-Modal Transportation Options

[Chikako Mochizuki]

Ghank you Susan for posting this. I hope you're doing well.

Chikako
Sent from my iPhone

On May 27, 2013, at 3:38 PM, "Susan Tabor" <souljourner at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Thought this would be of interst.—Susan
>  
> LJWorld.com | City seeking input on new study of bike, transit, and other multimodal transportation options
>  
> LJWorld.com
>  
> City seeking input on new study of bike, transit, and other multimodal transportation options
>  
> May 27, 2013
>  
> If going to a public meeting to talk about plans for biking, carpooling and public transit systems in Douglas County doesn’t sound like as much fun as
> it used to, local officials have a new gadget for you.
>  
> As part of its multimodal planning study, Lawrence and Douglas County officials have launched a new
> interactive mapping system
> that allows members of the public to make suggestions to the county’s transportation system simply by clicking on a map.
>  
> “We have heard a lot of positive feedback about it,” said Jessica Mortinger, a city-county transportation planner who is working on the study.
>  
> The map allows people to do a flyover of the entire county, and then pinpoint a location on which they want to leave a comment. For example, if a bicyclist
> wants to highlight concerns about a particular intersection, she can mark it on the map, write a specific comment and then submit it for everyone else
> to see. Other viewers can then click on the entry, add additional comments or simply hit a “like” button to indicate support for the sentiment.
>  
> “We have heard from people that it is great to see what everybody else is saying,” Mortinger said. “We think it adds to the transparency of the process.”
>  
>  
> The city and its consultant have created three interactive maps for the project: One is for comments on the community’s bicycling infrastructure, one is
> for park and ride commuter issues, and the third is for the city’s public transit system.
>  
> The maps can be accessed at lawrenceks.org/mpo/studyinput. The system requires you to create an account and register your e-mail address. The city also
> will host a traditional public meeting to gather input on the plan from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on June 5 at the Union Pacific Depot, 402 N. Second Street.
>  
>  
> The interactive maps are part of the information gathering process for the city and county’s first-ever multimodal transportation study. The study is designed
> to take a specific look at the systems that need to be in place for people to travel in ways other than an individual vehicle.
>  
> The study will focus on three areas:
>  
> • Creation of a new countywide bicycle plan. Currently the city of Lawrence has a bicycle plan, but a countywide plan isn’t in place.
>  
> “We know that people don’t just stop at the city limits when they are looking for bikeway connections,” Mortinger said.
>  
> The study is expected to help identify potential capital improvement projects that could be funded in the future to help improve the local transportation
> system for bicyclists, Mortinger said.
>  
> • Examination of potential sites for park and ride lots. A handful of park and ride commuter lots have sprung up in the city and the county over the last
> few years. But Mortinger said most of those lots are lacking any formal structure to ensure they’ll exist in the future. The study seeks to do planning
> for a more formal system because the idea of ride-sharing is expected to be more widespread in the future, Mortinger said.
>  
> • Review of the city’s transit system, with a particular emphasis on whether the system can be improved for pedestrians who are walking to and from bus
> stops.
>  
> “We want to do what we can to improve people’s ability to get to bus stops,” Mortinger said.
>  
> The study is expected to be completed by late 2013. Mortinger said the department decided to undertake the broad planning effort because the community
> likely will rely more heavily on alternative modes of transportation in the future.
>  
> “We feel like having more transportation choices really is critical to ensuring a good quality of life,” Mortinger said. “Active transportation can be
> the answer to a lot of issues, whether it easier access to services or improving health or a host of other issues.”
>  
> As for the interactive mapping system the city is using for this study, it may end up being the answer to another often-asked city question: How to increase
> public input on a host of city plans and issues?
>  
> Megan Gilliland, communications manager for the city, said the city is likely to look at whether there are ways to used online-based commenting sytems
> for other technology.
>  
> “I think as technology evolves, we need to look at ways to make it easier for people to talk to us,” Gilliland said. “One of the things I like about it
> is you don’t have to show up at a public meeting to comment and participate. You can log in from home. We think it is going to be a convenient way to communicate
> with City Hall.”
>  
> Originally published at: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2013/may/27/city-seeking-input-new-study-bike-transit-and-othe/
>  
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