Commission OKs bike lane requirement

A proposal to require bicycle lanes on most streets in new areas of development was approved Tuesday by the Lawrence City Commission.

The plan calls for bike lanes to be installed by the developers of adjacent property to thoroughfares the city considers “collector streets.”

The city defines collector streets as those with moderate traffic from neighborhoods to main arterial streets that have the potential for multiple street connections. The plan seeks bike lanes that are 2.5 feet wide.

Bobbie Flory, executive director of the Lawrence Homebuilders Assn., said the cost of the lanes will be passed on to those who purchase the developed properties. While she said she was not opposed to bike lanes, she said she objected to requiring property owners to shoulder the cost of something that will benefit the entire city.

Neighborhood asks city to rezone acreage

Residents of a west Lawrence neighborhood asked the Lawrence City Commission to rezone land to keep it from becoming a commercial development.

One of those residents, Katie Hooper, said they didn’t want “hotels and restaurants in our back yard.”

She was referring to a 12.3-acre area northwest of Legends Drive and Research Park Drive. The property is currently zoned for planned commercial development.

There currently are no development plans filed with the city for the property, which neighbors said they wanted rezoned for residential use.

Commissioners referred the matter to its planning staff to be discussed at a future meeting.