photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., is pictured on Jan. 31, 2023.

A draft version of the City of Lawrence’s comprehensive Brick Streets and Sidewalks Policy is now available for review, after more than a decade in the making.

The city announced Wednesday that the draft policy is available for public review and comment from now through Tuesday, June 25. The city is also set to host a public open house about the policy during that window, next Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St.

As the Journal-World has reported, efforts to create a policy for preserving and maintaining brick streets and sidewalks have been in the works since 2013. The city has been gathering feedback on a potential policy during the past several months, both at other open house events and through a recent community survey.

That has resulted in the 20-page draft policy shared this week, which sets out a scope of maintaining the “unique character and charm” of existing historic neighborhoods by preserving exposed brick streets and sidewalks as a historic asset through certain standards and specifications.

“However, these historic assets must be balanced with our city’s ongoing commitment to developing and maintaining public right-of-way infrastructure that removes barriers and increases accessibility and equitability for all people in Lawrence,” the draft policy reads.

The policy — which includes standards for installation and maintenance, along with specification sheets and maps of the areas near downtown Lawrence where the policy would be applicable and the existing conditions of brick roadways — was written by City of Lawrence staff with the assistance of a subcommittee approved by the city’s Multimodal Transportation Commission, according to a city news release from Wednesday.

photo by: City of Lawrence screenshot

This map shows the areas around downtown Lawrence where the draft policy for brick sidewalks would apply, based on various types of historic and zoning “overlay” districts.

Notably, the policy outlines exactly where brick sidewalks are appropriate — specifically, inside local, state or nationally designated historic districts and inside specific “overlay” zoning districts, which are overlaid on base zoning classifications to alter their zoning regulations — and how they should be installed and maintained to meet accessibility standards. The release notes that all public sidewalks, even historic brick ones, must meet “Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines” (PROWAG) under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The policy also lays out preservation standards for exposed brick streets and outlines the process for how covered brick streets may be restored through adopted neighborhood plans.

“This new proposed process aims to balance the unique character of our vibrant historic neighborhoods with planning for future capital improvement projects,” the Wednesday news release reads.

In terms of maintenance, property owners are considered responsible for maintaining and keeping brick sidewalks adjacent to their properties in good condition, much like the city’s policy for maintaining other paved sidewalks in the city. Streets, meanwhile, are to be maintained by the City of Lawrence, and restored or repaired “as resources and funding are available” when brick streets don’t meet safety standards.

Along with those nuts and bolts, the plan also outlines the type of bricks that are considered “historic;” generally, they’re red and sometimes marked with “Lawrence, Kansas” or “Lawrence Vit. Brick Co.” The draft policy calls for such bricks to be preserved whenever possible and says that any bricks salvaged from the public right-of-way are the property of the City of Lawrence.

There’s even a section of the draft policy that includes examples of common brick sidewalk patterns, from “herringbone” to various “basketweave” variations. The policy notes that many brick patterns can meet PROWAG standards, and any pattern of brick sidewalk can be used when installation standards are met. The policy also calls for projects to make the “best effort” to reconstruct sidewalks in their existing pattern.

photo by: City of Lawrence screenshot

The draft brick streets and sidewalks policy includes examples of common brick sidewalk design patterns such as these.

The full draft policy is available to read via a dedicated project page on the city’s website. The project page also includes more information about the policy and community engagement efforts thus far, as well as an online feedback form where public comment on the draft should be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on June 25.