To the editor:

As a recent resident (three years) I have found it more difficult to shop in Lawrence than in other locations where I have lived. The south Iowa shopping locations are so diverse that I must move my vehicle multiple times, sometimes crossing Iowa street twice, to find what I may be seeking. Also, gasoline is more expensive in Lawrence than in Johnson County or Topeka so this makes the decision easier to go either east or west to shop and replenish my fuel tank.

I have concluded, after three years reading the Journal-World, that Lawrence has created this shopping dilemma with their attempts to favor the Mass. Street establishments. I suggest the decisions made by the City of Lawrence, which favor Mass Street and which dictate how other than Mass. Street businesses are situated, make shopping elsewhere in Lawrence difficult and are thus one cause for diminished sales tax collections.

Jack Kelly,

Lawrence