Developing areas at the edges of Lawrence and Baldwin are about to get new outdoor warning sirens to help warn residents of approaching storms.

Three new sirens will be installed by the arrival of severe-weather season this coming spring, Douglas County commissioners decided Monday.

Commissioners agreed to spend up to $58,120 for the new sirens, expected to provide coverage in three areas:

• Northwest Lawrence, generally west of Wakarusa Drive and north of Harvard Road.
• North-central Lawrence, generally along North Iowa Street north of the Kansas Turnpike, including Wells Acres and Miller Acres subdivisions.
• Western Baldwin, west of 12th Street, including an elementary school.

“It’s just part of the cost of growth,” said Charles Jones, commission chairman.

The sirens will connect into the county’s emergency-warning system, which already has 30 sirens fanned out across Lawrence, Baldwin, Eudora, Lecompton and assorted rural areas.

Each pole-mounted, rotating siren is designed to be capable of blurting its distinctive wail for a mile in every direction. Sirens are sounded when dangerous storms are approaching, with hopes for alerting people who may be outside — whether it’s sitting on a porch, walking a dog or playing baseball in a park.

“It’s so that when there is a tornado, and they hear the sirens, they know to take shelter,” said Phillips, who noted that people huddled inside homes or other buildings should rely instead on television reports, all-weather radios and other media. “There are a lot of people in these neighborhoods, and we need to get them outdoor warning sirens.”

Officials have not determined precise locations for the new equipment. Such equipment always is installed on public property, Phillips said, and with consideration for the effects of high-decibel sounds on individual property owners.

“We don’t want them right in front of someone’s front door,” she said.

Phillips said several areas were in line to receive sirens in the foreseeable future, based upon development patterns and financial conditions:

• South of Eudora High School.
• South of the Douglas County Jail.
• Along the South Lawrence Trafficway’s hike/bike path, between Wakarusa Drive and the intersection of 31st Street and Kasold Drive.
• Lecompton.

The county typically sets aside $5,000 to $10,000 a year to finance the purchase of new sirens and other equipment as needed, Phillips said.

After buying the three sirens, Phillips said, the county should have about $120,000 in its account for such purchases.