Multimedia Reporting (Utsler)

During the summer of 2006, Lawrence maintenance crews fixed a notorious dip in the road at the intersection of Second and Locust streets in North Lawrence. The city rerouted traffic around the site, causing a bottleneck that stretched back to the bridge over the Kansas River. Commuters driving past the construction site may have noticed a lone fire engine parked next to a former grocery store while the city completed the repairs to the street. In order to ensure a quick response to emergencies, that one fire engine remained north of the river for the duration of the roadwork.

"That was at the request of the North Lawrence Improvement Association. The city doesn't do that on its own," said Mike Boyle, head of the neighborhood activist group dedicated to fostering the interests of residents and businesses north of the river. "I've been president of the NLIA for 11 years, and we've been asking for a fire station over here since before I was president."

Despite being isolated by the Kansas River, no fire or emergency services are based in North Lawrence. The likelihood of a new fire station being built north of the river seemed to depend upon who was asked.

"It's not cost effective," said Rich Barr, fire marshal for the Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical. "The city can not justify moving a station over there and keeping one downtown."

Barr said that moving the downtown station, officially known as station number one, would put the downtown area at a greater risk of conflagration, because a fire could impact numerous structures built tightly together.

Fire stations number one on 746 Kentucky Street and number six on 225 Maine Street are the closest of five stations to North Lawrence. Water rescue boats for both the Kansas River and Clinton Lake are located at station number three on 3708 West Sixth Street. In the event of delay on the bridges to North Lawrence, emergency vehicles would be forced to use Interstate 70.

However, there discussions that the downtown station could be moved if the city commission decided to expand the existing Lawrence Public Library rather than moving it to an alternative site. Both buildings presently share the same block downtown.

While Ted Boyle hopes that a new library displaces the old fire station, Rich Barr said the Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical would prefer another alternative. "We don't want to relocate the station," said Barr. "The new plans for the library include reincorporating a new station into the exiting building.

However, Ted Boyle is confident, based on his discussions with the city commission. "It looks like we will probably get a fire station within the next maybe three to five years, especially with them talking about a new library, if they choose to do it," said Ted Boyle. "We'll probably get a fire station before we get a grocery store."

Meanwhile, Boyle will prepare for next year when a major reconstruction of the intersection of North Second and Locust streets will hinder traffic through the area for months. Commuters will undoubted see another lone fire engine parked somewhere near by.

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Behind Ted Boyle's North Lawrence home stands the levee that prevents the Kansas River from wiping away much of his possessions and memories.

As a long-time resident and president of the North Lawrence Improvement Association for the last 11 years, Boyle remembers a time before the levee. He also remembers when North Lawrence had a grocery store and a coin-operated laundry.

"Before any economic development hits in North Lawrence, there will have to be storm water issues taken care of," said Boyle, who has worked with numerous entrepreneurs to bring businesses to this hamlet across the river from downtown.

At the end of 2005, the HNTB engineering firm published the North Lawrence Watershed Drainage, and the city has slowly started implementing some of the recommendations. Although relieved that the city initiated the study in the first place, Boyle admits the process will take time because of the major financial commitment necessary.

"$16 million has to be spent on the internal parts of North Lawrence to make it adequate for the residents that are here now; not new development," said Boyle. "$25 million needs to be spent out by the airport."

Boyle insists that the city should not saddle the residents of North Lawrence with the bill for these improvements. Instead, he hopes that the money can be found through other means.

One likely source for the funds would be a rate hike on the water bill for all Lawrence residents to help make repairs for existing neighborhoods. Boyle prefers that the developers pick up the bill future projects.

The city has already started implementing some of those recommendations when it replaced one water pump and repaired another, both of which are located near the intersection of Locust and North Second streets. However, the pipes that carry the water do not have the capacity to keep up with these pumps.

Matt Bond, the new storm water engineer for Lawrence, said he hoped the city could replace the pipes at Locust and North Second streets when the city widens and repairs the intersection in fall 2007 or spring 2008.

A similar situation exists near Fifth and Maple streets. While the city plans to convert a former sewage pumping station to a new storm water station soon, the existing pipes will not be large enough for the pumps to operate at full capacity.

There is no timetable for installing new pipes at Fifth and Maple, but even with the old pipes, the benefits of the new station will be immediate.

"That will be number one," Boyle said. "If that's redone, that will affect about 100 residents."

In the meantime, there are other new technologies that the city hopes will work to alleviate the flooding problem, including a new permeable concrete that should allow water to seep through into the soil underneath rather than running off into an already saturated area.

"It looks like a rice crispy treat," Bond said. The city would like to experiment with the new concrete soon, but first Bond must wait to hear how well it worked in other communities.

New building practices are now being enforced within the city limits with, and should help prevent the situation from worsening.

Meanwhile, Ted Boyle and other North Lawrence residents will have to continue driving across bridges when they need a grocery store, coin-operated laundry, pharmacy and hardware store.

"The city commission is trying to come up with the money." Boyle said.

Though the problems can't be fixed over night, Boyle and other North Lawrence residents can take some comfort in knowing that some progress is being made.

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