Clear the way for trucks on 31st Street

Posted by Chad Lawhorn August 1, 2008 at 1:25 p.m.

Clear the way for trucks on 31st Street

It is not the final leg of the South Lawrence Trafficway, but city leaders are beginning to discuss a plan for alleviating the amount of truck traffic on 23rd Street. The city's Traffic Safety Commission will consider on Monday a request to designate 31st Street between Haskell and Iowa as a truck route. They'll also consider designating Haskell between 31st and 23rd streets as a truck route. Those two new designations would give semi-trucks traveling through the city another route option. Currently, trucks that only are passing through Lawrence are required to stay on state highways. For trucks coming off the western leg of the South Lawrence Trafficway, that means they have to travel down Iowa Street and then work their way down busy 23rd Street, which also serves as Kansas Highway 10. One question that arises, however, is whether 31st Street can handle the additional truck traffic. David Woosley, the city's traffic engineer, said the portion of 31st Street that is maintained by the city is rated to handle the heavy truck traffic. But a portion of the road - the part that mainly travels through the Haskell and Baker Wetlands - is maintained by the county. Whether it could handle the additional traffic is still an open question. Mayor Mike Dever had brought up the idea of adding new truck routes, and referred the issue to the Traffic Safety Commission for a recommendation. City commissioners will make the final decision on the matter. The Traffic Safety Commission meets at 7 p.m. on Monday at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets. Also on the commission's agenda is a request to establish a marked crosswalk at the intersection of Dakota and Louisiana streets. Download the full agenda and supporting materials [here.][1] [1]: http://www.lawrenceks.org/advisory_boards/tsc/agendas/2008/08/04

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Raider 4 years, 9 months ago

Just build the SLT and this will be a non-issue.

Thats_messed_up 4 years, 9 months ago

Just build the damn SLT! Woosley has got to be the world's worst traffic engineer - hands down.

srj 4 years, 9 months ago

I see trucks all the time on 31st, and they sure cause trouble on 23ed going left on Haskell, and also when they are on Haskell turning right on 23ed going toward KC. When they are turning right, they usually have to wait for everyone is gone from the center lane going north on Haskell so they can enter that lane and make a turn.

gccs14r 4 years, 9 months ago

31st should be removed between Louisiana and Haskell, not upgraded for truck traffic.

OnlyTheOne 4 years, 9 months ago

Raider, there's a lot of us out here that aren't against the SLT in principle only WHERE the developers (and be honest it is the developers call - not the politicians or the engineers) want to build it!I don't understand why "they" want to run trucks down 31st St except to p people off. Have 'em (trucks) head south to 458 (that's not that far) many of the trucks coming in from the south use it to bypass Iowa and 23rd already. It's a direct shot to 1055, 1057 and 1061. But I guess that's too logical or it's as I suggest because "they" want to turn 31st into a disaster zone to make more people insist on an you put it "Just build the SLT ."

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