TV viewer admonishes commissioner
David Barnhill put to rest any questions Tuesday about whether Lawrence residents watch the city commission on television.
Barnhill drove to the city hall to catch the end of the commission meeting and admonished Commissioner Marty Kennedy for his behavior earlier in the evening.
Kennedy had directed his ire at Schuyler Lister for Lister's proposed schedule to rehabilitate a building at 1201 E. 13th St. Commissioners have threatened for months to demolish the building if progress isn't made to make it less of an eyesore to the surrounding neighborhood.
"This is ridiculous," Kennedy said of the schedule, which proposed completion of the project by Dec. 1.
"You want it to be longer?" Lister asked.
"You want the bulldozer?" Kennedy responded.
Barnhill addressed Kennedy during a public comment session at meeting's end.
"If a police officer had treated a citizen the way you did tonight, you would've demanded he be fired," Barnhill told Kennedy. "It was embarrassing."
City to issue bonds for construction
City commissioners authorized the issuance of $2.8 million in bonds and $10 million in temporary notes to finance construction projects across Lawrence.
The projects include improvements to the intersection of 23rd and Barker streets, the street overlay program and improvements to parking lots and sewers throughout town.
Sale of the bonds and notes will take place April 24.
Bridge project rejected
Improvements for a bridge slated to be destroyed and replaced in the next decade were rejected Tuesday by the Lawrence City Commission.
City Engineer Terese Gorman offered commissioners the option of improving the bridge on North Michigan Street over the Kansas Turnpike to include a deck for pedestrians and bicyclists. The improvements would have been part of a project to improve the rest of North Michigan Street, scheduled to begin later this year.
Without the improvements, sidewalks and bike lanes end at the bridge. But turnpike officials say the bridge will be replaced in 10 to 12 years.
The project, without bridge improvements, will cost $2.6 million, with the Kansas Department of Transportation picking up 80 percent of the cost.
Barker area costs to be studied
City commissioners ordered city staffers Tuesday to determine the cost of recommended traffic-calming measures for the Barker neighborhood.
TranSystems Corp. submitted its study of neighborhood traffic to the commission Tuesday.
The company recommends building:
A series of median islands and alternate parking along Barker Avenue to reduce speeds on the street.
A roundabout at 19th Street and Barker.
A sidewalk along Learnard Avenue, to protect pedestrians from automobile traffic.
A traffic signal like a roundabout, but smaller at 17th and New Hampshire streets.
Commissioners requested the study after neighborhood residents complained about speeding traffic on area streets.
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