To the editor:

Journal-World Sports Editor Tom Keegan lives near Free State High School but not near enough to be affected by any of the traffic, lights, noise, trash, parking, water, etc., caused by any proposed development in the sports area at Free State!

In fact, no owner-occupied homes near Free State will be affected by sports, unlike University Place and Centennial neighborhoods, where dozens of owner-occupied homes near Lawrence High School and Lawrence Virtual School will be adversely affected, diminishing both quality of life and resale value of their homes.

The 497 administration and school board should be ashamed of themselves for the thoughtless shoehorning of a major sports complex into the established LHS neighborhood, which has narrow streets and no major arteries to carry the inevitable traffic of large sporting events. Also, noise, sound, lighting and trash pollution that accompanies these events will be uncontrollable, as well as parking that will spill over for blocks in all directions.

It would be like living next to Haskell Stadium with four additional sports complexes adjacent to your house. Also, think about 400 additional cars streaming in and out several times daily onto 21st Street and again at night for sporting events.

Lawrence needs a different location for a major sports complex other than LHS and the virtual school.

Keegan might have written a different column if he lived at 20th and Alabama.

Bob Blank,
Lawrence