Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Public Works Department

TO:	Charles F. Soules, P.E., Public Works Director
FROM:	Mark Thiel, Assistant Public Works Director
CC:	Tarik Khatib, Chief of Police Mark Bradford, Fire Chief Ernie Shaw, Interim Director of Parks and Recreation
DATE:	August 6, 2014
RE:	The Run to Free 5K – Labor Day, Monday September 1, 2014

Rebecca Wagner has applied for an event permit  for the Run to Free 5K – Labor Day, Monday September 1, 2014, benefitting The Willow Domestic Violence Shelter. The race would begin at approximately 6:00 a.m. on Massachusetts Street adjacent to South Park, with runners staging on the street beginning at about 5:50 a.m. Participants would run in the northbound lane of Massachusetts Street to 7^th Street, then turn east and run through East Lawrence until looping back onto Massachusetts Street at 15^th Street (see attached map). Runners would then travel in one northbound lane of Massachusetts Street back to South Park for the finish.

Staff is seeking City Commission approval of this event permit because the race will involve a rolling closure of the northbound lane of Massachusetts Street downtown from about 6:00 a.m. – 6:25 a.m. Parking on Massachusetts Street would not be prohibited, although vehicles parked on the east side of Massachusetts Street would not be able to leave for a few minutes as runners pass by. (See attached traffic management plan – prepared by the Lawrence Police Department)

The police department has coordinated traffic control on this route for several previous races and has developed a plan that requires little to no police resources for traffic control. All barricades and staff will be solely provided by the applicant.

ACTION:       Approve a Street Event permit for use of various city streets, including the rolling closure of the northbound lane of Massachusetts Street downtown from 6:00 a.m. – 6:25 a.m., on Monday, September 1, 2014, for The Run to Free 5K.