Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Department of Public Works

TO:	Mike Wildgen
FROM:	Chuck Soules
CC:	Dave Corliss, Debbie Van Saun, Terese Gorman, David Woosley, Linda Finger
Date:	October 13, 2004
RE:	Road Safety Audit

The City has received the Road Safety Audit for Douglas County from the Kansas Department of Transportation; http://www.lawrencepublicworks.org/traffic.shtml - Douglas County Road Safety Audit.   The study reviews/evaluates state highways and provides recommendations to improve the safety of those routes.

Road safety audits are conducted by KDOT periodically as a proactive process in order to determine what safety changes, if any, are needed on the state highway system, instead of conducting individual traffic studies in a reactive process based on requests.  Within the city limits, the city maintains the following sections of state highways: US-40 (6^th Street), US-59 (Iowa Street), and K-10 (23^rd Street).  These recommendations can be used to leverage federal funds for the identified projects.  Several recommendations (identified in blue) have been made as part of the audit:

US-59

• Change the posted speed of US-59 between Terrace Road and Harvard Road from 35 mph to 40 mph. 

This is consistent with the 85^th percentile speeds being driven.

• The City will be responsible for checking the dilemma zone protection for southbound traffic at US-59 and 15^th Street. 

The “dilemma zone” is the red/yellow cycle lengths.  This recommendation will involve staff verifying that the red/yellow cycle lengths are appropriate.  Staff will complete this item.

K-10

• Upgrade the four-lane section between Louisiana to east of Haskell to a five-lane roadway with center left turn lane. 

This recommendation would require a considerable amount of widening and right-of-way acquisition.  At this time staff is not recommending pursuing this project.

• KDOT – Traffic Engineering understands that the city has a completed study involving the K-10 corridor from the north junction of US-59/K-10 to Noria Road.  If there is a plan to improve the safety of this corridor, the signalized intersections of Ousdahl, Louisiana, Haskell, and Harper should be considered. 

No action required.

• The city will be responsible for checking the east/west dilemma zone at Haskell. 

Staff will complete this item.

• The city should consider north/south left turn phasing at Massachusetts and Harper or re-striping to line up the north/south left turn lanes.

Staff is currently in the process of determining what work will be necessary in order to implement this.  In 2004 the city submitted a geometric improvement project at 23^rd and Harper to widen the south leg to provide a left turn lane.  KDOT is reviewing this application.  Additionally, the city has applied for safety funding at 23^rd and Harper for intersection improvements.

US-40

• A recommendation to improve the section of US-40 from east of Maine to west of Massachusetts will be to upgrade to a five-lane roadway from the current four-lane undivided roadway.

Next year, 2005, the KLINK project will include milling and overlaying this section of US-40.  If the Commission desires to pursue the re-striping of this section of highway to include a left turn lane, this would be the opportune time.  Currently parking is not allowed on the north side of the street.  There is sufficient room (width) to re-stripe with a left turn lane and retain the parking on the south side.  Over the last three years (2001-2003) there have been 39 total accidents in this area of which 13 included injuries to at least one person.  Using State averages of costs for accidents with property damage and injury, the cost of these accidents totals $679,250.

This same issue was brought to the City Commission in April 1999 (minutes attached).  At that time there was some objection to the idea of a left turn lane and removal of parking, and the adjacent neighborhoods had not had an opportunity to make comment.  The City Commission decided to use the KLINK funds on another section of the highway (Iowa Street) and to collect input from adjacent neighborhoods.  No further discussion of a turning lane was pursued.

In the September meeting of the Traffic Safety Commission, it was recommended to install the center turn lane.  If the City Commission desires, staff will contact adjacent neighborhoods, receive public input, and bring this back for City Commission approval.  If the City Commission is not interested, staff will proceed with completing the KLINK plans under the current lane configuration.

The Traffic Safety Commission has reviewed this information and concurs with the recommendations.

Action Requested:   -     Receive Road Safety Audit. 

- Provide staff direction on US-40 re-striping.

- Approve Traffic Safety Commission recommendation to change the posted speed of US-59 between Terrace Road and Harvard Road from 35 mph to 40 mph.

Respectfully submitted,

Charles F. Soules, P.E.

Director of Public Works