Lawrence launches update to bicycle plan; advisory board names representative to steering committee

Lawrence staff said the city has started an update to the Lawrence Bikes Plan and will appoint a member of the Connected Cities advisory board to the plan's steering committee.

City transportation staffer Stephen Mason told the Connected Cities advisory board the steering committee was approved by the Metropolitan Planning Organization policy board in November and that meetings are expected to start later in January or in early February and run through 2025. "We are starting the process for the update to the Lawrence bicycle plan," Mason said.

The update is framed as an update to the 2019 plan and will be a separate process from a forthcoming countywide bikeway plan. The draft scope includes traditional bikeways and "micro-mobility" approaches (bikes-plus shared spaces), bike parking, and a review of the community's comfort expectations for protected or buffered bikeways rather than unprotected paint-only lanes.

Advisory board business included a formal appointment. The board moved to name a Connected Cities advisory board member to represent the board on the steering committee; the motion passed unanimously. The board selected the named member to serve as the board's representative and recorded the vote as 5-0.

Staff said the steering committee will set the final scope early in the process and that the plan's adoption goal is December 2025. Mason and other presenters said the city expects overlap with the county process but intends to keep the two plans separate.

Less critical details: presenters said the update will revisit issues covered in 2019, incorporate recent implementation progress and achievements, and aim to coordinate with Vision Zero and other pedestrian and bicycle safety efforts.

The advisory board did not take further formal action beyond the appointment vote and asked staff to return with updates as the steering committee forms and the community engagement plan is developed.