The need to work cooperatively with Johnson County to ensure future business vitality on the Kansas Highway 10 corridor doesn’t mean Lawrence and Douglas County shouldn’t stand up and advocate for themselves.

We are either players in the development of the K-10 corridor or bystanders, and we won’t get in the game if we seem satisfied to sit on the sidelines.

The executive director of the K-10 Corridor Association spoke to Lawrence city commissioners Tuesday night about the possibility of a road to connect K-10 with the Kansas Turnpike. The K-10 group is pushing state officials to begin studying a route for the connector and are eyeing possible locations for the road.

After hearing the options, Commissioner Mike Amyx said officials should begin working with Eudora and Leavenworth County officials on a proposal to have the connection run north from the existing K-10 interchange at County Road 1057, midway between Lawrence and Eudora. Mayor Sue Hack, however, seemed hesitant to aggressively pursue such a strategy, saying it might pit Douglas County against Johnson County and perhaps undermine the success of the K-10 corridor.

That reasoning seems odd. First, competition between Douglas County and Johnson County isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as leaders don’t take an adversarial approach. Just because Lawrence and Douglas County want to make their case for a K-10 connection near Eudora doesn’t mean we aren’t willing to work with Johnson County on other issues, or even in support of the K-10 connection if that county is chosen as the best location.

If Lawrence and Douglas County aren’t going to advocate for themselves, who will? Certainly not Johnson County. Even if a Johnson County location is chosen for the connection, state highway and economic development officials need to see that Douglas County wants to be in the game and that we’re willing to work hard to make the case for a project that will benefit our community.

Maybe local officials think it isn’t even worth fighting the proposed routes that would connect to K-10 near DeSoto and tie into new development at the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant. Making the choice to step back from this competition could be seen as Lawrence picking its battles or it could be seen as Lawrence being a little lazy. It’s a cinch that this project won’t land in our laps if we don’t go after it. If we go after it and lose, we’ve at least shown people we want to be in the game.