The City of Lawrence has received a Safe Streets and Roads for All grant to run an audit of two major thoroughfares, supplement a written safety plan and change the timing of some traffic lights.

The Federal Highway Administration awarded Lawrence $320,000 through the grant, which will be matched with $76,000 from the Kansas Department of Transportation and $4,000 from the city.

The city will use the funds for a three-part project, as it’s presently envisioned.

First, the city will conduct safety audits to review road conditions and identify safety concerns on Sixth Street from Kasold Drive to Massachusetts Street, and again on 23rd Street from Iowa to Massachusetts streets.

Then it will implement and test Leading Pedestrian Intervals, which help time traffic signals to give pedestrians a head start on the crosswalk before vehicles get a green light. The city is planning LPI demonstrations on designated Safe Routes to School paths.

Lastly, the city plans to write an appendix for the Vision Zero Transportation Safety Action Plan. The goal of this plan is to suggest strategies to eliminate deaths and serious traffic-related injuries.

Although this plan will help determine future investments, Michael Leos, a spokesperson for the city’s Municipal Services and Operations department, said none of the money is budgeted for construction or implementation aside from LPIs.

Leos said via email that the city doesn’t know when they’ll start work, as they’re still waiting to sign the grant agreement. He also said it’s unknown if city staff will conduct the work or if they’ll seek an outside contractor. However, Leos said there will be community engagement opportunities in the future.

Read more about the grant at this link.

Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.

Read their complete bio here. Read their work for the Times here.

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