photo by: Nick Krug

A cyclist is reflected in a puddle of water as he cruises through the rain-soaked intersection of 13th and New York streets on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013.

A 10-member task force, created last year to research challenges facing pedestrians and bicyclists in Lawrence, has nearly finished its job.

It discovered problems, including unconnected bike paths and 72 linear miles of streets that don’t have sidewalks on either side. The task force also thought up solutions and recommendations on how filling in sidewalk gaps, improving bicycle safety and other additions could be funded. All of that will be presented Tuesday to the City Commission in a 41-page report.

The commission will decide whether to start an implementation plan.

All of the work was in an effort to allow more people to walk and bike in Lawrence, said Marilyn Hull, chair of the Pedestrian-Bicycle Issues Task Force.

“We’re really interested in getting more people out on bikes and enjoying the community by bike,” Hull said. “What we know is that most people in the community don’t feel safe on a bike riding around Lawrence. We have to do something different from what we’re doing now to provide the kind of facilities that will attract the average citizen to bike, rather than always getting in the car to go everywhere.”

The task force’s priorities related to pedestrians are: filling in sidewalk gaps in the “Safe Routes to School” network; completing sidewalks on arterial and collector streets; and bringing ramps, sidewalks and crosswalks into ADA compliance.

For bicycling, the task force prioritized: completing the “Lawrence Loop,” a currently unfinished trail intended to circle the city; improving bicycle safety on roads with the highest crash rates; and developing “bicycle boulevards.”

Hull explained that “bicycle boulevards” are low-speed streets made more bicycle friendly by adding traffic-calming measures.

The task force recommends budgeting $1 million each year from 2017 through 2019 to fund some of the priorities. It’s also asking that 0.05 percent of the 0.3-cent sales tax used for streets and infrastructure be earmarked for pedestrian and bicycle improvements, if the sales tax is renewed in 2019. The earmark would contribute approximately $850,000 per year, the report states.

The task force originally suggested increasing property or sales taxes to create a dedicated funding source for pedestrian and bicycle projects, but it backed off that idea when city commissioners said in February they wouldn’t support it.

Currently, it’s city policy to add bike and pedestrian amenities onto both new street and large maintenance projects. Hull said the task force wants that effort to continue, too.

If the city is going to invest in new sidewalks, it should also establish a sidewalk maintenance program that works, Hull said.

The issue of sidewalk maintenance was brought up at a City Commission study session on the report in February, where the task force called the current program “politically unenforceable.”

State law and city policy require property owners to maintain sidewalks.

The city notifies property owners to fix sidewalk damage only when it receives complaints. Though the city has the authority to make the repairs and bill the property owners after so many notifications, it has never done so, City Engineer David Cronin has said.

Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard said at the study session that enforcing the sidewalk policy on more than a complaint-driven process would be “extremely resource-intensive.”

“It’s not enforced, and as a result we have an overall sidewalk system that’s deteriorating with no real plan for improving it or even maintaining what we have,” Hull said. “So, the situation isn’t tenable long term. We feel like that’s something the city and citizens need to continue to put some energy into, figure out how to fund and manage a program.”

The task force is recommending that a new maintenance program be established by 2017 and that all sidewalks and ramps are brought into ADA compliance by 2030.

As of Friday, 48 individuals and organizations wrote to commissioners in support of the report. It has the backing of many local health and recreation groups and neighborhood associations, such as the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, Heartland Community Health Center and the KU, Lawrence and Douglas County bicycle advisory committees.

“The commissioners have a lot of difficult choices to make, and we understand that,” Hull said. “But I think our report and support letters show this is an issue that is of really major interest to a lot of people in our community. It’s not some fringe group.”

The City Commission will also:

• Reopen a public hearing about an unsafe home at 1231 Pennsylvania St. and decide whether to order the property owner to repair or remove it.

In December, the City Commission granted the property owner, Leon Kimball, 90 days to remove debris and demolish the house. There had been no progress at cleaning up the property as of April 20, according to a city memo.

City staff is recommending commissioners set another public hearing date of June 21. Then, if the property isn’t cleaned up by July 22, the commission should direct the city to clean it up and bill Kimball for the work, the memo states.

• Schedule a vote May 10 on new policies governing city elections and mayoral terms.

Part of the vote would include a recommendation from Commissioners Lisa Larsen and Matthew Herbert that current Mayor Mike Amyx remain in the position until January 2017, when a new mayor and vice mayor would be elected. Other changes, made at the state level, move city elections from April of odd years to November of odd years, starting in 2017.

• Decide whether to apply for a $110,00 grant through The Sunflower Foundation to complete part of the Lawrence Loop near Rock Chalk Park. If awarded, the city would fund the entire project, costing $275,000, and then receive a $110,000 reimbursement.

The section of trail, three-quarters of a mile, would connect the South Lawrence Trafficway Trail to the Baldwin Creek Trail.