The year is 2030, and Lawrence residents are taking leisurely strolls from their homes to a pedestrian-friendly street lined by multistory buildings filled with shops, condos and offices.

Must be downtown Lawrence, right?

Not necessarily. In a plan floated by Lawrence-Douglas County planners, those 2030 friends very well could be in a new development far south of the Wakarusa River near an extended Louisiana Street and Wells Overlook Road.

“You could live there, you could walk to the retail there, your kid could walk to school there. You wouldn’t have to get in the car to do everything in your life,” said Dan Warner, a long-range planner for the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Department. “It would be similar to what we have in the core part of the city today.”

In other words, a mini-downtown.

Seeking comment

Planners have developed a land-use map that shows two “new urbanism” areas developing between now and 2030, with the other one far west of the South Lawrence Trafficway near an extended Bob Billings Parkway and Trailriders Road.

But planners first want to find out what the public thinks. The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission on Wednesday will be taking public comment on whether it should start using the proposed land use map incorporating the new urbanism-type developments, or stick with a more traditional map that envisions the city developing in a more typical suburban style.

Planning commissioners are reviewing the two map options as part of a process called Transportation 2030, a plan designed to spell out what the community’s road system will look like in 2030.

The biggest difference between the two maps is the creation of the live-work-and-play zones in what will then be south Lawrence and west Lawrence. The zones would emphasize mixed uses, meaning apartments or condos might be above small retail stores or offices.

The zones also would place a premium on walkability: Both call for a school to be within walking distance of homes, and both would feature lots of sidewalks.

The housing in the area also would be more dense, which is the case in older neighborhoods such as East Lawrence and Old West Lawrence. Some housing also would be zoned in a way to allow people to live and work out of their homes.

“It would be a smaller scale of what is happening downtown, and in the neighborhoods that surround downtown,” said City Commissioner Boog Highberger, who has been a supporter of the new urbanism concept. “As the city grows and develops, downtown shouldn’t be the only commercial area that has that feel and functions in that way.

“But the key issue here is the size. We’re not planning anything that would rival downtown.”

The size of the retail areas for both proposed zones would be along the lines of a neighborhood commercial center. An example of a neighborhood commercial center, Warner said, is the Hy-Vee development at Clinton Parkway and Kasold Drive, though the new urbanism center would be designed much differently.

The two maps also give residents a look at how planners see other parts of the community developing during the next 20 years.

South of the Wakarusa River

The southern area predominately would be low-density, single-family homes. But the area may have a unique feel because it also would have large amounts of green space. The area includes several small creeks, and planners are insisting no development occur in their floodplains.

“The real trick with this whole area south of the river will be to make sure that it is integrated into the rest of Lawrence rather than having it feel like a separate city,” said Highberger, who also is on the Transportation 2030 committee that is developing the maps.

The area will have one major commercial center, which is proposed at U.S. Highway 59 and Wells Overlook Road. Planners have designated the area as a community commercial center, which would allow for 400,000 square feet of commercial development. That would make it one of the larger commercial areas in the city. It would be roughly the same size as the area expected to develop around Sixth Street and the South Lawrence Trafficway.

The plans also call for one other neighborhood commercial center in the area. On one map it would be near the area where an extended Haskell Avenue would intersect with Wells Overlook Road. On the other map, it would be the new urbanism center at Louisiana Street extended and Wells Overlook Road.

West of the trafficway

Low-density, single family development is the major use predicted for the western area. But it also would have significant amounts of office or apartment development along the portion of U.S. Highway 40 that is west of the trafficway.

The plan also calls for the intersection of the trafficway and the Kansas Turnpike to house an “auto-oriented commercial center.” That would allow it to have uses such as a truck stop, hotels or car dealerships.

The western area also would include four new neighborhood commercial centers. One would be at U.S. Highway 40 and Stull Road.

The other three would be along East 800 Road, also known as Trailriders Road. One would be where the road intersects with the Farmers Turnpike northwest of Lawrence. Another would be where the road intersects with North 1750 Road, which is just south of the turnpike. The final neighborhood center would be where Trailriders intersects with North 1500 Road, which is Bob Billings Parkway extended.

Eastern Lawrence

Most of the area east of the East Hills Business Park is planned to be green space, because much of it is in the floodplain.

The major exception is that a community commercial center of up to 400,000 square feet is planned for wherever the eastern leg of the trafficway connects with Kansas Highway 10. Currently the plan calls for that to be at Noria Road and K-10.

A much smaller piece of commercial development is slated at County Road 1057 and K-10.

One major question also exists in this area. The area surrounding the Douglas County Jail is shown on both maps as being predominately a business park, but that may not end up being the case. City and county commissioners have been debating uses for the area, generally called the southeast area, for more than a year.

City commissioners have said the property’s location along K-10 makes it well suited for a business park, but county commissioners say it could be a prime area for affordable housing.

Planners said they need more direction from elected leaders on how the area should be listed on the maps.

Bill Ahrens, a transportation planner with the Planning Department, said it would be important to get the issued settled because the type of use will determine the type of roads needed to serve the area.

North Lawrence

The major northern addition would be large amounts of industrial and research park land around the Lawrence Municipal Airport.

Once planning commissioners adopt a land use map, planning staff members will begin running computer models to help determine the location and size of roads that would be needed by 2030. City and county commissioners ultimately will be asked to adopt that transportation plan.