tour_of_lawrence_2012

Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Jonathan Douglass, Assistant to the City Manager/City Clerk
CC:	Tarik Khatib, Chief of Police Mark Bradford, Fire Medical Chief Charles Soules, Director of Public Works Bob Nugent, Transit Administrator Ernie Shaw, Interim Director of Parks and Recreation
DATE:	February 24, 2012
RE:	2012 Tour of Lawrence

The city has received the attached request from the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) for city approvals and support for the 2012 Tour of Lawrence bicycle event, including a $10,000 contribution from the Transient Guest Tax Reserve Fund and donation of various in-kind city services. The event has three components: a street sprint on New Hampshire Street downtown on Friday, June 29; a campus course (including some surrounding neighborhoods) to be raced on Saturday, June 30; and a downtown Criterium on Sunday, July 1. City staff mailed notification of the City Commission consideration of this item to properties located along the race routes. The various components of this request for approval/support follow.

Monetary and in-kind city support

The CVB has requested a $10,000 allocation from the Transient Guest Tax Reserve Fund in support of the event. The request submitted by the CVB contains a breakdown of how these funds would be used.

City in-kind support for this event in 2011 was valued at approximately $16,000. Costs are expected to be similar for the 2012 event.

Street Sprint – Friday, June 29, 2012

The CVB has requested a Temporary Use of Public Right-of-Way Permit for the use of various city streets for the street sprint, the downtown Criterium and the campus course. The street sprint event would consist of a series of short sprints on New Hampshire Street from just south of 7th Street to just south of 8th Street. Racers would cross the finish line at 8^th Street then return to the starting line area by turning east into Pachamama’s’ parking lot to reach the alley between New Hampshire and Rhode Island, turning north onto the alley to reach 8^th Street. Once on 8^th Street, the riders would work their way back to the start line.

For the street sprint, the 700 block and part of the 800 block of New Hampshire Street would be entirely closed from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Friday, June 29. The 100 block of East 8^th Street (between Massachusetts and New Hampshire Streets) would be closed from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and the western half of the 200 block of East 8^th Street (from New Hampshire east to the alley) would be closed from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.

Traffic management and street closure details for the street sprint follow:

At 10:00 a.m., 8^th Street from New Hampshire to the alley between New Hampshire and Rhode Island will be closed, to position the finish line trailer and complete the finish line area.;
At noon, 8^th Street from Massachusetts to New Hampshire will be closed in order to begin setup of the finish line truss, kids’ zone and live music area;
At 5:00 p.m. New Hampshire Street south of 7^th Street to the northern edge of Parking lots 2 and 4 will be closed in order to begin setup of the starting line area; towing would need to be enforced in this area;
City Parking Lot #2, located on the west side of the 700 block of New Hampshire, will be closed at 5:00 p.m.; vehicles will be able to leave the parking lot until 6:30 p.m. by crossing New Hampshire into the parking lot directly across the street; signage will explain this closure; vehicles will not be towed out of this lot, but they will be stuck there after 9:00 p.m.;
7th Street and 9th Street, which bookend the race course, will not be closed.

Campus Course – Saturday, June 30, 2012

The city streets associated with the campus course would be closed on Saturday, June 30, from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Parking would be prohibited on the campus course, but course marshals would control vehicular traffic to allow safe access to properties along the course throughout the day on Saturday. These streets will be controlled but not completely closed.

For the campus route on Saturday, June 30, the CVB requests that all streets along the route be marked “no parking” with the staked signs often used by the Police Department. These signs would be provided by the Police Department and would be placed by CVB staff. Race officials would control the flow and direction of vehicular traffic so that no streets are completely closed throughout the day on Saturday, June 30. The first race is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. and the last race should end around 8:00 p.m. Access for emergency vehicles will not be impeded, but residents and visitors to properties along the course may at times have to wait a few minutes for safe passage between groups of cyclists.

Downtown Criterium – Sunday, July 1, 2012

For the Criterium, the downtown streets would be closed on Sunday, July 1, from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. These downtown streets would be completely closed to vehicular traffic and parking. The CVB would place “no parking” signs on meters and affected parking lots inside the course area on Saturday, June 30, with the parking prohibition effective starting 6:00 a.m. Sunday, July 1. The CVB suggests using signs rather than bagging the meters to avoid prematurely giving the impression that parking is prohibited. Lot 4 on the west side of the 800 block of New Hampshire would be closed and reserved for participant parking but no actual enforcement (i.e. towing) is planned. Vehicles would be able to leave the parking lot by crossing New Hampshire and exiting via the alley or Rhode Island Street. Access to the New Hampshire Street Garage will be available. Vehicles will be able to enter and leave the garage throughout the event via the 9^th Street exit. Vehicles would cross New Hampshire Street (with law enforcement control) beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Temporary sale, possession and consumption of alcohol

The CVB has requested a permit for the temporary sale, possession and consumption of alcohol in certain spectator areas downtown during both the street sprint and the Criterium. The areas can generally be described as portions of the 700 and 800 blocks of New Hampshire and 8^th Street from Massachusetts to New Hampshire during the street sprint, and the 700, 800, and 900 blocks of Massachusetts as well as 8^th Street and 9^th Street from Vermont to New Hampshire during the Criterium. Because the proposed area is within 400 feet of several churches, city code requires that the churches be given at least 30 days notice that a public hearing will be held regarding the request. Staff will notify the churches and a public hearing will be held at a future date.

Police services

The CVB has requested traffic control services from the Police Department during both the downtown and campus portions of the event. As this is the fourth year of this event, the Police Department and race organizers have already worked out many of the details and are continually improving traffic control plans for the event. KU Police will be responsible for traffic control for the on-campus portions of the course.

Fire Medical services

The CVB will be providing some medical assistance for the event participants, and has also requested the presence of standby emergency medical units at the events at levels determined appropriate by the Fire Medical Department.

Trash services

The CVB has requested placement of an additional 14 trash barrels downtown during the street sprint and Criterium. CVB staff or volunteers will be responsible for emptying these trash barrels as needed into a city dumpster to be placed in Lot 4.

Miscellaneous city services

The CVB has requested a number of other items of support from the city. These items can be accommodated by the Public Works Department.

Use of 27 saw horse barricades to be placed in alleys and surface lots.
Street sweeping prior to and following the event.
Patching and minor maintenance of certain portions of race routes if there are safety concerns.
Temporary removal of traffic calming circles at 17^th & Illinois and 17^th & Indiana.
Temporary removal of pedestrian crossing signs located on the 800 block of New Hampshire.
Placement of bleachers at the finish line for Friday’s Street Sprints.

ACTIONS: Approve allocation of $10,000 of guest tax funds to the CVB in support of the Tour of Lawrence, if appropriate.

Approve temporary use of right-of-way permit for the use of various city streets on June 29-July 1, 2012 for the Tour of Lawrence, if appropriate.

Approve the donation of various city services in support of the Tour of Lawrence, if appropriate.