From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Dec. 24, 1987:

Residents of North Lawrence were fighting to keep a traffic signal that the city wanted to have removed. City engineer Teresa Gardner had recommended removing the flashing red stoplight at Fifth and Elm streets because it did not conform to national standards. Residents said that beacon had been in place for 25 to 30 years and that it was doing a fine job of alerting drivers to stop when the light was flashing during school hours. City records showed very few accidents at the intersection near Woodlawn School, and Bob Moody, president of the North Lawrence Improvement Association, said that local drivers were so accustomed to the signal that its removal might cause a safety hazard. Gardner, however, was standing by her recommendation, saying that the city could be held liable if an accident occurred at an intersection with a non-conforming signal. Traffic volume at Fifth and Elm was too low to warrant any kind of control such as a stop sign or traffic light, Gardner said, but the city commission could consider placing a stop sign there or a flashing yellow beacon nearby.