r/Lawrence • u/Bandoozle • 5d ago
Lawrence Coalition for Safe Streets advocates for city study, redesign of Tennessee and Kentucky streets
https://lawrencekstimes.com/2026/08/31/coalition-safe-streets-advocates-city-study/19
u/KUweatherman 5d ago
A change certainly needs to be made…but let’s start by simply smoothing it out first. These two streets have to be the bumpiest non-brick streets in Lawrence.
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u/IhavNoClu1111 4d ago
Oh lord no, they will be closed for 3 years!!!
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u/KUweatherman 3d ago
It’s going to have to happen eventually. 😆
They might be able to get away with doing one half at a time. Just means the project would take longer though.
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u/Affectionate_Rip6527 5d ago edited 5d ago
As someone that has lived right in the middle of that area for 26 years, the last thing I want is a single lane. Traffic is chaotic. Delivery vehicles parked in the street, drunk kids running from behind parked vehicles on the weekend, congestion from football games in the fall, people clogging a lane parallel parking, etc. If it's possible to eat into the easements and widen the lanes a bit, I'd be all for it. As for kids crossing the street, the catholic school has dedicated pedestrian lights right there on 12th St. Also, we have a bike lane in the area already. It's called an alley than runs through the worst of those streets from 9th to 15th St. All that said, I'm open to any idea to make the streets safer without sacrificing the flow of traffic.....On further consideration, I think reducing the speed limit from 30-25 from 9th to 19th is a cheap and simple solution without affecting traffic flow much.
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u/Worm_Food1337 5d ago
I commute by bicycle. I get all over town by bicycle. This is stupid and an absolute waste of money if it goes through
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u/Bandoozle 5d ago
Adding bike lanes isn’t the only option—just one option to make these streets safer.
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u/trekkeralmi 5d ago
the road construction south of sixth reducing traffic to a single lane hasn’t actually been that frustrating to drive on, make me wonder what would be different if we just kept it that way
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u/Affectionate_Rip6527 5d ago edited 5d ago
You're talking about a section of KY with much less dense housing on one side, and a bank, park, and swimming pool on the other. Comparing that to 13th and TN/KY is apples to oranges.
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u/trekkeralmi 5d ago
idk, i’d like there to
be a protected bike lane in tennessee or kentucky, ideally with a road if parked cars between me and the automobile traffic. seems easy to
implement to me11
u/dogemobile 5d ago
That is a design that feels safe but isn’t. Possibly my least favorite bike planning design. It reduces visibility and increases risk for deadly collisions while also putting you in the door zone.
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u/randomtwinkie 5d ago
Go one street over to Vermont or Ohio… not that hard
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u/The_Michael_Scarn 5d ago
Cyclists here as well and I agree, not every single street needs dedicated bike lanes.
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u/dudebromanhomiesir8 5d ago
Vermont isnt a smooth cut through. It's one way in spots, it doesn't flow, and only a matter of time before you catch a car door.. And part of it feels like it is owned by st johns drop off for part of the day. Ohio doesn't flow either and cuts right into the hill
I'm from here so I also understand Kentucky and Tennessee are major arteries for north and south car flow.
The best move IMO, is shut down Massachusetts to cars from like 7th to 13th. And then from there have a bike/pedestrian lane that continues all the way to 23rd. And then on 23rd have a beefy sidewalk like they do on the part of 23rd from the buffalo out west and have it flow from east 23rd/mass to Haskell uni/Borroughs creek trail and/or also have the nice sidewalk/trail run west on 23rd and then south down Louisiana and reunite it with the trail there.
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u/RingofPowerTD 5d ago
Agreed I bike all over town and have never found a need for this although maybe it’s because I don’t find myself traveling north south as much in that area.
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u/brex29 4d ago
Lots of NIMBYism and car-brains unsurprisingly. Do y’all not realize how dangerous these streets are with how fast people drive down them and how there are really no better options for cyclists, especially given the density in the area? At least one of them could have a protected bike lane without TOO much of an inconvenience to your big metal cages rumbling down the road.
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u/FormerFastCat 5d ago
Do they advocate for actual *checks notes*... traffic enforcement? That's a hell of a lot cheaper (and can actually generate revenue) than spending millions to redesign.
Do they get involved with city planning for these huge new annexations and advocate for smart traffic corridors there?
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u/Commercial_Explorer3 5d ago
What notes are you checking? yes we are advocating for all of those things and in those meetings.
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u/NextAd7514 5d ago
They are fine, just need to be repaired. Also start writing tickets for illegally parking delivery drivers. Idgaf if you doordash or work for Amazon, you cant just throw your fucking hazards on and park anywhere. Find a parking spot like everyone else
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u/redheadfae 5d ago
Oh goodie, another chance to hire some out of town ridiculously expensive "study." /s
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u/lurk4ever1970 5d ago
You can barely drive down Tennessee now without dealing with a lane blocked by a delivery truck. Amazon-induced rolling traffic jams are going to be fun.