Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

 

TO:

David L. Corliss, City Manager

 

FROM:

Jonathan Douglass, City Clerk/Assistant to the City Manager

 

CC:

Tarik Khatib, Chief of Police

Mark Bradford, Fire Medical Chief

Charles Soules, Public Works Director

Ernie Shaw, Interim Parks and Recreation Director

 

DATE:

February 28, 2013

 

RE:

KU Relays 2013

 

 

The Lawrence Sports Corporation (LSC) has been working with Kansas Athletics on plans for the 2012 KU Relays, and would like to request city approval for holding events downtown on Wednesday and Thursday, April 17-18, 2013. Please see attached permit application, which includes event descriptions and images of the event areas. In summary, the proposed uses of downtown streets would be as follows:

 

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Event:

Shot Put

Location:

100 block of E 8th St and the intersection of 8th St and New Hampshire St

Time of Event:

6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Time of Street Closure:

6:00 a.m. Wednesday – 6:00 a.m. Thursday

 

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Event:

Long Jump

Location:

100 block of W 8th St

Time of Event:

6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Time of Street Closure:

11:00 a.m. – Midnight

 

The event would require city approval and various city services. Organizers request donation of city services in support of the event. The major services required are Public Works resources for building the shot put area. The Police Department reports that they do not generally need to dedicate resources toward this event.

 

Preparation and breakdown of event sites

 

For the shot put event, a throw area would be created by trucking in crushed limestone filler material. The city’s Street Maintenance Division has been involved in the planning of this site and would conduct the construction and cleanup of the site to ensure that the street surfaces are not damaged. This site would be cleaned up the night and early morning after the event in order to get the street and intersection open as quickly as possible.

 

The landing pit for the long jump area would be filled with sand brought in from a private contractor. This sand will be cleared out and the street reopened by midnight the same evening as the event.

 

The Street Maintenance Division would provide barricades for closing the streets for all three events. The event organizers are also requesting that Parks and Recreation provide six additional trash barrels which would be moved from event to event by the organizers, and bleachers to be set up at the east end of the shot put site. The organizers also request standby medical support during the events.

 

Parking/traffic/bus route impacts

 

The shot put and long jump events would require that parking on the 100 block of E 8th Street and the 100 block of W 8th Street be prohibited during the street closure times outlined above. Instead of using the city’s parking meter bags, the event organizers would post signs on the meters like they have done for events such as the Tour of Lawrence bike race. The signs would go up 24 hours before the closure, but they seem to help prevent giving people the premature impression that parking is prohibited as soon as the signs go up.

 

The street closures will require some transit bus reroutes. Event organizers will work with Transit to plan the street closures and reroutes to be the least disruptive as possible.

 

Support from adjacent properties

 

Event organizers will personally notify properties adjacent to the street closures of their plans and solicit their support. The city will also send notification to Downtown Lawrence, Inc. for distribution to their membership list.

 

Alcohol

 

Event organizers request that the City Commission adopt an ordinance allowing the temporary possession and consumption of alcohol on the two blocks of 8th Street during the events on those blocks. Staff has drafted for the City Commission’s consideration, Ordinance No. 8845, authorizing the possession and consumption of alcoholic liquor on the 100 block of E 8th St and the intersection of 8th St and New Hampshire St from 4:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. on 04/17/13, and on the 100 block of W 8th St from 4:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. on 04/18/13.

 

 

ACTION:      Approve a Temporary Use of Public Right-of-Way Permit for the closure of the 100 block of E 8th St and the intersection of 8th St and New Hampshire St from 6:00 a.m., 4/17/13 to 6:00 a.m. 4/18/13, and the closure of the 100 block of W 8th St from 11:00 a.m. to midnight on 04/18/13.

 

Adopt on first reading, Ordinance No. 8845, authorizing the possession and consumption of alcoholic liquor on the 100 block of E 8th St and the intersection of 8th St and New Hampshire St from 4:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. on 04/17/13, and on the 100 block of W 8th St from 4:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. on 04/18/13.