photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

The corner of Sixth and Mississippi Streets in Lawrence. The city announced Monday it received a federal grant that will provide $400,000 for safety work along streets, including a road safety audit along portions of Sixth Street.

The City of Lawrence has been chosen to receive nearly $400,000 from the Federal Highway Administration and the Kansas Department of Transportation that will support studies and projects to make local streets safer.

In a news release Monday, the city announced that it was selected for a Safe Streets and Roads for All grant, which will include $320,000 from the federal government and $76,000 from the Kansas Department of Transportation. The city will be required to provide $4,000 in matching funds.

With this grant, the city will fund road safety audits along two corridors — Sixth Street from Kasold Drive to Massachusetts Street and 23rd Street from Iowa Street to Massachusetts Street — that will identify safety risks and possible improvements.

The city will also use some of the funds to install and evaluate traffic signal timing tools called “Leading Pedestrian Intervals” that give pedestrians a short head start in the crosswalk before vehicles receive a green light. Specifically, the project would demonstrate these tools in areas of the city that have been designated as Safe Routes to School.

The release said that the city hopes to “prioritize safety for everyone using our transportation system, whether traveling by car, walking, biking or taking public transit” and that the grant will allow for “data-driven, community-focused work that will help identify practical improvements on key corridors and evaluate pedestrian-safety tools.”