Schwegler Neighborhood, just south of 19th Street from Kansas University, is in the middle of what one neighbor Wednesday called a “summer fiasco.”

The beginning of summer brought with it the start of more than 30 road projects in Lawrence, including reconstruction of the 19th Street and Ousdahl Road intersection — the future entrance to KU’s Central District.

The intersection closed June 2, eliminating a throughway between Naismith Drive and Iowa Street. It’s expected to remain closed until Aug. 5.

The city sent invitations for a Wednesday meeting to approximately 1,500 people in Schwegler, which is defined by Iowa Street to the west, Naismith Drive to the east, 19th Street to the north and 23rd Street to the south.

About 25 people showed up to tell Public Works Director Chuck Soules and City Engineer Dave Cronin how the closure of 19th Street had affected their neighborhood so far.

They said traffic had poured onto 21st Street — which also runs all the way from Iowa to Naismith — turning it into a “raceway.”

At the suggestion of the group, the Lawrence public works department will put up barriers this week to keep people from using the neighborhood as a way to get between Iowa and Naismith.

The barricades, which will read “local traffic only,” will be set up at 21st and Iowa Street, 21st and Naismith Drive and West 19th Terrace and Naismith Drive.

The intention is to force drivers to use 23rd Street, instead of the residential neighborhood.

Soules said the city would try out the idea for a week and determine whether to leave the barricades based on feedback.

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An earlier version of this story misstated the boundaries of the Schwegler Neighborhood.