Mercedes Lucero purchased a house in North Lawrence only a few days ago. An open house for the city’s plan to revamp North Lawrence offered her a chance to consider what her new neighborhood could be.
The City of Lawrence hosted an open house Wednesday to gather input on its North Lawrence Corridor Study, which aims to improve and develop the area focused on North Second Street/U.S. 59 Highway.
The Lawrence City Commission approved a $400,000 contract with Kansas City, Missouri-based HNTB Corporation in September to launch the study. The city has termed this initiative the North Lawrence Corridor Study, but the project also encompasses parts of Grant Township.
Community members expressed excitement at investment and infrastructure upgrades but also stressed the importance of protecting the core culture of the neighborhood.
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Lucero has lived in Lawrence for 10 years and said they were drawn to the neighborhood because of its unique culture and close-knit community.
She was excited by the potential to revamp the riverfront area and make it a place for people to interact. She said walkable concepts with buildings that weren’t too tall caught her eye, as they meshed with the surrounding culture well.
“Encouraging more people to just, like, be outside and enjoy this space safely and leisurely, I think that benefits everyone,” Lucero said.
Wednesday’s open house was the city’s third public engagement event for the NLCS. At a workshop last month, roughly 200 people discussed their priorities.
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Poster boards lined the walls of Venue 1235 in North Lawrence on Wednesday. They recapped information on the project, summarized what the community said last month and allowed more than 100 people to vote with stickers on a selection of images proposing possible ideas for North Lawrence.
The open house focused on the study’s three main components: placemaking, connectivity and economic development.
Laura Klocke said the city should focus on simple amenities North Lawrence lacks, such as a grocery store and fire station.
People in attendance Wednesday favored placemaking concepts that emphasized and developed around the riverfront and centered nature in the area.
“We appreciate some of the great things that we already have, like the river trails and the levee,” Klocke said. “And so anything that would keep those and maybe enhance them a little bit.”
People said they wanted a more walkable neighborhood and to alleviate the burdens posed by structural divides like the railroad or river. One idea presented was a bridge over the river that was for bikers and walkers only.
John Harvey, a North Lawrence resident, said the city needed to create better pedestrian access across the train tracks, especially for children crossing on their way to Woodlawn Elementary.
People favored development focused on lower-density housing with higher-density commercial areas, though most people said they preferred buildings around three stories or less. People favored more density closer to the river.
Harvey said he was supportive of industrial development that focused on the agricultural opportunities in the area. He supported creating denser housing options, especially mixed-use options with apartments and commercial development.
“That’s something that makes it more unique, even to downtown,” he said. “You know, downtown has thriving retail and there’s a few apartments above, but to see a bunch of that, it could become a whole district in itself, especially if you add in some bike paths and some walking paths and, all of a sudden, Second Street becomes a pretty cool corridor.”
Multiple community comments emphasized protection of farmland in the area. A group including Grant Township and the North Lawrence Improvement Association is suing Douglas County over a planned solar farm to be built on farmland north of Lawrence.
Much of North Lawrence and Grant Township sits on a floodplain. Ted Boyle has lived in North Lawrence for decades, including 29 years as president of the North Lawrence Improvement Association.
He said many of the ideas presented Wednesday were premature until the city had a clear plan to ensure development wouldn’t worsen flooding. He said water pumps were a necessary first step, and many businesses were worried their flood insurance payments would increase with more development. One board at the open house showcased three possible pump locations.
“I’ve been on this consulting firm about the pump and they skirt around it,” he said. “… I mean, they’re more interested in development.”
Oliver Murphy is 13 years old and has lived in North Lawrence his entire life. He emphasized the need for pumps to manage stormwater. He is part of the Lawrence Preservation Alliance, and said he wanted to make sure development respected the historic building in North Lawrence.
Jason Fundis, member of the project team, said location and prevalence of stormwater alleviation measures would be studied later in the project. Fundis is vice president of municipal transportation and community planning and development for Professional Engineering Consultants.
Melissa Sieben, director of municipal services and operations for the City of Lawrence, said the team was happy with the turnout.
She said the city had not yet discussed how it would fund improvements in North Lawrence. She said that would come in the next phase, once the city had identified what the community desires.
Sieben said she noticed many people surprised by the demographic data of North Lawrence, which is distinct from the rest of town. The median age is higher and the community tends to be less transient than the rest of Lawrence. Since 2010, the population of Lawrence and Douglas County have risen by about 10%, but the population of North Lawrence has decreased by about 3%.
The city plans to begin developing the plan in January and will hold another visioning workshop and open house next year. The city will offer virtual question and answer sessions at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 12 and 5 p.m. Monday Dec. 15.
There is also a survey available to gather community thoughts on the study, closing on Jan. 9.
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Cuyler Dunn (he/him), a contributor to The Lawrence Times since April 2022, is a student at the University of Kansas School of Journalism. He is a graduate of Lawrence High School where he was the editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, The Budget, and was named the 2022 Kansas High School Journalist of the Year. Read his complete bio here. Read more of his work for the Times here.
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