photo by: Bremen Keasey

A broken section of sidewalk is pictured in July 2024 in East Lawrence.

The Lawrence City Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve an application for a federal grant that could result in around $22.9 million in sidewalk and other pedestrian improvements across the city.

The city is aiming to earn funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant. If the city wins the grant, it would receive about $21 million for the construction of new pedestrian crossings for transit stops, building new sidewalks where there are currently gaps and reconstructing sidewalks and building bus stops that will meet ADA requirements. The city would spend $1,882,000 in local funds for design and easements as part of the project and spend about $25,000 to help prepare the grant application.

The proposed improvements would mostly focus on areas in East Lawrence, with many of the projects centered around downtown and around the University of Kansas, according to grant application materials. The project that is the farthest west is an ADA sidewalk reconstruction project along the section of Bob Billings Parkway with Lawrence Transit’s Central Station.

photo by: City of Lawrence

The map shows potential sidewalk and pedestrian improvement projects the city of Lawrence may undertake if it wins a large federal grant.

Other areas highlighted in the application include: Ninth Street near downtown and the University of Kansas campus; various areas between downtown and the KU campus; areas between downtown and the eastern edge of the Lawrence Loop trail; and portions of 19th and 21st streets, Naismith Drive and Louisiana Street.

Additionally, the projects would include sidewalk improvements in areas of persistent poverty, which align with the federal grant’s priorities, as well as working on priorities the city has set out on a local level to improve pedestrian infrastructure, such as the ADA Public Right-of-Way Transition Plan — a 20-year, $103 million plan for bringing pedestrian areas to ADA standards — and the Safe Routes to Schools Plan.

A city presentation said that 117 injury crashes occurred between 2019 and 2023 on the portions of the roadways that would be improved, with 11% of those involving pedestrians or bike users.

This summer, the city will hear whether it has won the funding. If so, the plan would be to begin construction on the projects in 2027.

In other business, commissioners:

• Approved a rezoning request to change 4.9 acres of land at 566 George Williams Way from residential zoning to a commercial area.

That chunk of land near the corner of Sixth Street and George Williams Way will now be a CN-2 neighborhood commercial zoning district, which allows for a variety of small business uses, from offices for service businesses to general retailers. The leasing agent for the property previously told the Journal-World that quick-service restaurant users have expressed the most interest in the property. That could include anything from traditional fast-food chains to coffee shops. A concept plan required as part of the rezoning maps out how three buildings could be placed on the site, with parking in the center of the property, but a new owner could come up with a more specific plan.