To the editor:
I appreciate the kind words offered by the editorial of Sept. 23 ("When you're wrong"). It's not often a resident of the old neighborhoods gets a kind word for trying to preserve anything.
I do feel that I must clarify what I said to reporter Peter Hancock in his story on the Mississippi Street brick project (J-W 9/22). What I said was that the 700 block of Mississippi Street was not the best choice for the initial restoration project not that it was a mistake to reconstruct it using a brick wearing surface. There are definitely some better examples of restorable brick streets in East Lawrence, Pinckney and the Oread neighborhoods.
But let's look at some facts.
Mississippi Street failed for several reasons. It was substandard even by turn of the century standards in that it was constructed with one layer of bricks with a thin sand setting bed over dirt. What is really amazing is that it lasted 100 years. It is designated by the city as a collector street which means the whole city shares in its use and in its upkeep. It has also seen more than its share of heavy traffic. Costly asphalt overlays were short-lived on that street and it needed rebuilt.
Public Works director George Williams and head of the Lawrence Street Division, Tom Orzulak, have put together a very reasonable plan to restore the street and it is staying on budget. The street crews that are spending some of their time on the cleaning and sorting are being cost-effective. The volunteers last Saturday included people from OWL, East Lawrence, Oread, the LPA and a county commissioner as well as a city commissioner.
It is not that I feel responsible for the problems; it's that many folks are taking an active part in keeping Lawrence a great place to live. We have a good time and welcome help to make this a community project. We'll be there for the next four Saturdays. Tools and safety equipment provided. See you there.
Michael Morley,
Lawrence.
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