The City of Lawrence is adding temporary parking spaces in the middle of Ninth Street to help customers access businesses affected by construction for the Jayhawk Watershed Project.
As part of the project, the city fully closed Ninth Street between Indiana and Louisiana Streets to through traffic on Dec. 1. The closure will keep inching along Ninth Street before the street reopens in summer 2026.
Businesses on the affected block have shared their hopes and concerns about the project, which include fears that decreased customer accessibility and foot traffic would lead to plummeting sales and closure.
“The City of Lawrence has added 13 temporary parking spaces on 9th Street between Tennessee St. and the road closure to support local businesses impacted by ongoing construction associated with the Jayhawk Watershed project,” according to a city news release. “The temporary spaces are intended to provide additional parking for customers and patrons accessing businesses along the corridor while the street remains under construction.”
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The spots are angled parking placed in the center of the street. Drivers will be able to use them by the end of the day Thursday. Per the release, Ninth Street is the only location in Lawrence that has this type of temporary parking.
“The project team considered additional parking west of the construction area but determined it would be too close to truck traffic associated with the KU Gateway project and did not meet safety and operational needs,” the release reads.
The city will remove the parking spaces once Ninth Street reopens. It asked folks to remember that local businesses along the street are still open and need support throughout the construction.
Find city updates on the Jayhawk Watershed Project at this link.
Read more reporting on the project and Ninth Street closure here.
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This post is by the Lawrence Times news team.
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Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
