Community members on Tuesday pushed for Lawrence city commissioners to prioritize bike safety along two key streets that run through town.
Ten of the 16 speakers who addressed the commission about the proposed 2027-2031 capital improvement plan pushed for safety improvements, including a reconfiguration of Tennessee and Kentucky streets between Sixth and 19th streets to include bike lanes.
The resident-requested project, which city staff members did not recommend for funding, would include reducing the two-lane streets to one lane, incorporating an 8-foot-wide bicycle lane with 3-foot buffers, and retaining existing street parking.
The documentation in the meeting agenda materials estimates a cost of $1.1 million.
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“The current design prioritizes cars moving fast over people moving safely,” Lawrence resident Hilary Carter told the commission, displaying a map of crashes along the two streets over the past five years. “Reconfiguring these corridors is not an amenity — it’s the city’s obligation to residents who have already been hurt or killed here.”
Both Kentucky and Tennessee streets are scheduled for improvements in the near future as part of the city’s street maintenance programs.
“I think there’s room there for us to do something that would slow down traffic and also provide a better environment for all the people there,” Commissioner Mike Dever said. “I just don’t know if it needs to be a bunch of construction or equipment, or it needs to be just a mindset of slowing down traffic, putting in one lane of traffic and trying to support bikes and other means of transportation.”
Commissioner Amber Sellers said, as she has for the past few years, that she would like to see a splash park in west Lawrence.
There are splash pads that are free to visit in East and North Lawrence, but none on the west side of town. A project that staff members are not recommending for funding is estimated at $750,000.
“We have great assets out west that could be home to a splash park, and we really need to look at bringing that parity full circle,” she said.
Two additional speakers came to talk about the Lawrence Loop, and several community members wrote to the commission asking for them to support completing the loop — the miles of trail system that almost encircle the city but still have a few remaining gaps.
“This is a really vital part of the vibrancy of our community, and really, thank you very much for considering these projects,” Eric Nelson, a board member of Friends of Lawrence Area Trails, told commissioners.
Two speakers with the Coalition for Collaborative Governance asked for further information, clarification and more plans regarding the city’s debts and what it will cost in the future to pay them off.
Tuesday was the commission’s first look at the next five-year capital improvement plan. They will revisit it over the next few months prior to final approval in September.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at [email protected]. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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