16 March 2000

Commission To Receive Area Transportation Strategy

The Manhattan City Commission will meet tonight Thursday March 16 in Special Session. One item on the agenda is the
Manhattan Area Transportation Strategy: Connection to 2020. Karen Davis, AICP, Director of Community Development
and Tom Swenson, TranSystems Corporation of Kansas City will give the report.

The City and KSU paid more than $260,000 for the study. Here is part of the Memo give to the Commission:

BACKGROUND

The City has been working with TranSystems Corporation, of Kansas City, Missouri, to prepare a Comprehensive
Transportation Study of the Manhattan area. In March 1998, the City Commission approved a Contract and Scope of
Services for preparation of the study which includes the preparation of goals and objectives, review of existing conditions,
and recommendations for short- and long-term improvements. As a part of the same study, TranSystems also worked with
Kansas State University to study parking issues on campus.

The process that was used to develop the study involved extensive consultation with the public, the Steering Committee, and
a Technical Committee made up of members of City Administration. A total of eight Steering Committee meetings were held
in addition to five Public Workshops (see Project Chronology). Each Steering Committee meeting and Public Workshop
focused on Working Papers which outlined findings and recommendations of the Steering Committee and Consultant
regarding specific aspects of the project. The study addresses various modes of transportation including pedestrians,
bicycles, the roadway network, air travel, railroads, public transit, freight, and parking issues in Downtown and Aggieville
areas.

The Final Report of the Manhattan Area Transportation Strategy: Connecting to 2020 includes the following chapters:

Chapter One: INTRODUCTION

Chapter Two: GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Chapter Three: POLICY FRAMEWORK

Chapter Four: EXISTING CONDITIONS

Chapter Five: ROADWAY NETWORK

Chapter Six: PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Chapter Seven: PEDESTRIAN ELEMENT

Chapter Eight: BICYCLE ELEMENT

Chapter Nine: PUBLIC PARKING - DOWNTOWN AND AGGIEVILLE

Chapter Ten: TRANSPORTATION STRATEGIES

Chapter Eleven: FINANCIAL CAPACITY ANALYSIS

Chapter Twelve: IMPLICATIONS FOR LOCAL PLANNING

Appendix A: POLICY ISSUES

The project Steering Committee met on July 21, 1999, to review the final draft report and forward a recommendation to the
Manhattan Urban Area Planning Board and City Commission. The Steering Committee voted 13-1 to recommend adoption
of the report and suggested several structural and content changes to the report which were incorporated into the final
version.

On August 31, 1999, the Manhattan Urban Area Planning Board and City Commission met in a joint policy session to
review the draft report and the Steering Committee's recommendations and to provide suggestions for final modifications to
the document, prior to initiating the public hearing process for formal adoption.

DISCUSSION

On March 6, 2000, the Manhattan Urban Area Planning Board held a public hearing to consider adoption of the Manhattan
Area Transportation Strategy: Connecting to 2020 as an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Manhattan
(see draft Minutes of the March 6, 2000, Planning Board meeting). Tom Swenson, P.E., TranSystems Corporation,
presented an overview of the Final Report to the Board and the public and was available to answer questions.

Comments received from the public concerned the availability and quality of taxi service for the elderly and disabled and the
issue of a north/south connection in the Miller Ranch area. The Planning Board members indicated they needed more detail
on the future road network in the area west of Miller Ranch and near the Airport. One member expressed concern in regard
to the specific wording in the Goals and Objectives in the Plan.

After discussion, the Planning Board voted 5-0 to approve Resolution No. 030600-A amending the Comprehensive Plan for
the Manhattan Urban Area and City of Manhattan, by adopting and adding the Manhattan Area Transportation Strategy:
Connecting to 2020 Final Report. The motion included an amendment to the report to revise Figure 5-2 (Future Roadway
Network) to show North Fourth Street as a collector street, from Leavenworth Street to Bluemont Avenue, as is reflected in
the Downtown Tomorrow Plan. Although it was not included in the motion, the Board also suggested that Figure 5-2 include
the Airport and Corporate Technology Park areas.

Members of KSU Administration and the Student Governing Association will be present at the City Commission meeting to
discuss issues related to transit on campus, specifically the concept of a shuttle system which could be integrated into a
broader City transit system. Officials from the University have expressed a desire to participate in the next steps for the transit
issue, which would be an implementation study. Representatives from TranSystems have discussed the implementation study
with the Kansas Department of Transportation and believe a strong possibility exists for their funding of such a study.

On March 16, 2000, the item before the Commission will be to consider adoption of the Final Report as an amendment to
the Comprehensive Plan.