Lawrence Journal-World opinion section

To the editor:

I’d like to thank the City of Lawrence Public Works Department for the vast improvements made to the hill between Maine and Iowa on Ninth Street.

Because the road has been put on a diet and reduced to two lanes for car traffic, one middle turn lane and a bicycle lane on either side, I can now safely ride my bicycle to KU and to The Merc, two of my near-daily destinations. For example, while I wait to turn north onto Michigan off of Ninth, I no longer have to worry that car traffic heading east will plow into me from behind. Also, though this is purely anecdotal, I notice far fewer accidents at the formerly dangerous intersection of Ninth and Maine, where I live. This is a fine example of how a Complete Streets policy can make roads accessible to all.