Those heading home to Old West Lawrence for the holiday might need to ask for directions. The routes that residents have taken for years are now obstructed by temporary road barriers. It’s an experimental effort to prevent speeding and excess traffic through neighborhood streets, instead pushing drivers out to arterial roads and collector streets. Some residents of the neighborhood have concerns about the barriers’ consequences — both intended and unintended. Maren Bradley, vice president of the OWL neighborhood association, said that during an annual meeting in January, residents’ concerns about speeding, unsafe drivers and the potential dangers for kids, pedestrians and bicyclists “came to a fever pitch.” Speed bumps and speed tables in the neighborhood had not achieved the desired effects, and cut-through traffic to get to the nearby University of Kansas campus has remained a concern for many.
Source: The Lawrence Times
