Multimedia Reporting (Kuhr-Volek)

Roundabouts. Traffic circles. The things known as "traffic-calming devices." Both are designed to slow or direct traffic on busy streets, but do they work? Some people appreciate them, but some wish Lawrence did not have them.

First, what is a traffic circle, and how is it different from a roundabout? A traffic circle directs cars the same way as a roundabout, but it is much smaller. In Lawrence, these are usually yellow and have yellow poles around them. Roundabouts are bigger, more expensive and usually have some decoration in the middle, like flowers or plants.

Roundabouts:

Brenna Erickson lives on the 700 block of Michigan Street, right in front of a roundabout. She said, in general, she liked the roundabout.

“It works,” Erickson said. “It makes the cars slow down and makes people pay more attention to their driving.”

However, Erickson also said that the roundabout can be dangerous during the winter.

“When it’s icy, my car slides all around, and it’s hard to maneuver through it.”

Caitlin Ogren, Kansas City, Kan. senior, also lives on Michigan Street near the same roundabout. She said she would rather not have a roundabout at that location.

“I hate it,” Ogren said. “It causes more confusion than anything. I don’t really see why we need one there anyway.”

Traffic Circles:

Liz Flannery dislikes the traffic circle outside her house on the corner of 17th and Illinois streets. She said she did not know why the circle was necessary.

“I know Illinois is busy, but I never saw any problems before the circle was put in,” Flannery said. “It made me mad when they put it there, and it still makes me mad to think about it.”

The series of Illinois traffic circles are also bothersome to postal workers.

Karen McCoy delivers mail along Illinois Street and thinks the circles could cause problems at times of heavy traffic.

“When classes are out, lots of students drive through here, and I worry about it,” McCoy said. “They’re just dangerous.”

McCoy said she does not have any problems driving through the circles with her mail truck, but she would still like to see them taken out. She thinks the stop signs at each intersection are enough to keep traffic under control.

Indiana is another street in Lawrence sprinkled with traffic circles. Tom Stacy lives on the 1700 block of Indiana Street and believes the City has wasted money on the traffic circle outside his house.

“If you want to spend thousands of dollars and receive no discernable benefit, then yes, put in a traffic circle,” Stacy said.

Stacy also said that many people do not know how the circle works.

“It has successfully created lots of confused drivers,” he said. “I see people go the wrong way around it every day.”

The traffic circles on Indiana Street, according to Stacy, make the road too narrow. He said people with larger cars and SUVs have trouble driving around them because they do not have enough room. The drivers then run over the curb on their way through, he said, which ruins the curb.

Pedestrians:

How do roundabouts and traffic circles affect people on foot?

Jonathan Glauner often walks down Illinois Street, crossing the road several times near traffic circles. He said they do not bother him.

“I’ve never had a problem with them,” Glauner said. “People slow down when they go around them, and it actually gives me more time to cross the street.”

Carolyn Sears, Kansas City, Kan. senior, does not feel the same way about her walk home from class. She said she gets nervous crossing the Michigan roundabout each day.

“It scares me,” Sears said. “I never know if cars are going to keep driving on around, or stop for me.”

Rather than make a mad bolt for the other side, Sears said she frequently stands on the roundabout until all traffic has passed.

“I don’t want to risk it,” she said.

Traffic Abroad:

Is the United States the only country with a traffic-calming trend?

Lauralyn Bodle teaches Italian at the University of Kansas and has traveled several times to Europe and Central America. She said that both places have an abundance of traffic circles and roundabouts.

“They work very well,” Bodle said. “People are completely comfortable with them.”

Bodle said that she would like to see more roundabouts and traffic circles in America and here in Lawrence.

“I think the resistance to them here is ridiculous.”

Roundabouts. Traffic circles. Do they work? Some say they successfully slow traffic, and some say they successfully create traffic problems. Some find that they make life as a driver and pedestrian easier, and some find that they make everything harder.

As more people move to Lawrence it means more waste and sewage for the city to take care of. Because of this, city officials are moving ahead on the next steps for the development of a second sewage treatment plant.

The city commission will vote on Tuesday to approve the rest of the acreage for the Wakarusa Water Reclamation Facility site. The commission has already approved 50 percent of the 530 acres for the property.

“We received approval from the City Commission (Tuesday night) to proceed with a Request for Qualifications process to select a design/build team for the design and construction,” Assistant City Manager Debbie Van Saun said.

The sewage treatment plant will be built in South Lawrence a long the Wakarusa River. City officials say the new plant will be designed to handle the sewage of a growing city. They estimate Lawrence will grow to 150,000 in about 15 years.

This is a map of where the Wakarusa Water Reclamation Facility will be located. Click for a larger image.
Map: City of Lawrence

Even though sewer treatment plant officials are confident about the direction the facility is headed, there are some concerns including the estimate and who will pay for it.

Debbie said that the estimated price will continue to fluctuate as details of the project become clearer. As for who will pay for this $70 million facility, she said every user of the plant will get billed each month on their water bill.

“This is the largest capital improvement project the city of Lawrence has ever undertaken and is a multi-faceted project,” Debbie said. “Many things can affect prices: labor market, availability of contractors, price of commodities, and design. The list goes on.”

Dave said he anticipates crews to be moving dirt in fall of this year and construction beginning as early as next spring. He said he hopes everything will be finished by 2010 or 2011.

However, before construction can begin, sewage treatment plant officials have to wait on a federal permit from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).

The NPDES (pdf) (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) permit is required by all facilities who wish to discharge into the waterways.

“We applied for the permit in December and it can take months before we receive it,” Dave said. “It’s a federal requirement to meet all requirements of the Cleanwater Act. This will determine the cost and design of the facility.”

Karl Mueldener, director bureau of water for KDHE, said that they are currently still working out permit details with consultants and city officials.

“This is one of the bigger projects I’ve worked on,” Karl said. “Lawrence has always had more than steady growth. That’s good because it’s growing, but the challenge is how to manage the utilities as people arrive.”

Dave said one of his main concerns is making sure they won’t have to build another facility in the near future. He said sewer treatment plants are a lot like a car, you have to maintain and operate it.

Karl said one of the many problems he sees with a big project isn’t in the construction phase, but what happens after it’s finished.

“One challenge is when you don’t build something big enough,” he said. “You put in a lot to a project and the growth is more than expected. I don’t anticipate this happening to this project.”

Dave said although they will have 530 acres, there will be some of the property left over after construction. He said that the additional land could be used for potential parks and trails or returning it to its natural habitat.

“We have a lot of opportunity to make additional use of the property,” Dave said. “We’ll look at all the options through the community and the commission on what to do with the additional property.”

A small fishing village in Kenya is receiving help from Kyli Maddox, University of Kansas junior.

Maddox’s efforts are part of the Women’s Institute for Secondary Education and Research Project (WISER) with Duke University. Maddox is shooting to raise $10,000 for the project that will become the first model girls’ secondary boarding school and research center for women in Muhuru Bay, Kenya.

Maddox is currently working on planning several fundraisers. So far, fundraising plans include a Bunny Hop with the Greek community, a 5K walk with the Lawrence community, and a concession stand with high school students of Overland Park and Price Chopper, a chain supermarket.

“I’m just doing everything I can to raise as much money as I can,” Maddox said.

Maddox was first inspired for this project while working for Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity in Calcutta, India last summer.

It was in India that Maddox first met Andrew Cunningham, co-founder of WISER. Maddox and Cunningham immediately knew they had one thing in common: a desire to help people in Africa.

“I know it sounds silly, but its just so sad; all the awful things happening there,” Maddox said.

According to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS, Muhuru Bay, Kenya has the highest percentage of HIV infected people in the country. It is also home to some of the highest malaria infection rates.

According to the Human Rights Watch, Muhuru Bay has some of the lowest rates for girls completion of secondary education.

“In the last 18 years not a single girl who has completed her secondary education in the Muhuru Bay school district has qualified for college entrance,” Cunningham said in an email.

He explained that since these girls aren’t likely to qualify for college, many families prefer not to pay the primary and secondary school fees and instead ensure their girls’ place as a future bride. This gender specific spiral of education deprivation and disease has led to a strong gender disparity. The ripple effects of having sick, poor, uneducated women are enormous.

WISER’s objectives are to achieve gender parity in Kenyan education, create educated and motivated leaders, foster international collaboration between United States and Kenyan students, and enrich the community.

Through the six weeks they spent together in India and a continuous flow of phone calls and emails, Maddox and Cunningham worked together to prepare Maddox for her contributing work to WISER.

Cunningham supports Maddox’s efforts. “Boy, wouldn’t it be great if you raised enough money to build a classroom and have it named after you, your school, your town,” he said.

Since starting her work with WISER, Maddox has found many other supporters including family and friends. Maddox’s mother DeeDee said, “My family has always been involved with local charities. I’m trying to influence them to expand to other regions because what is poor here is rich there.”

Another supporter, Jessica Bell, has joined Maddox in working for WISER. “I feel that the women of South Africa are treated so unfairly. When compared to men they are at a great disadvantage. I love WISER,” said Bell.

According to Cunningham, WISER has received overwhelming support in Muhuru Bay.
“Our teachers always say that, we as girls, are slow learners. This has created a gap between the teachers and the girls, and the teachers [spend] all their time on the [boys],” said Emmaqulate Oders, a community girl, in a letter to Cunningham.

Maddox is optimistic about her efforts. She believes this is her chance to give girls in Muhuru Bay some of the same opportunities she has. “Any amount of money we can raise well be good. Anything will help. From $1,000 to whatever,” Maddox said.

It’s 10:30 a.m., and Alex Barr is just waking up for the school day; in his classroom. He shares the same morning routine as traditional high school students, but his day is completely different from other high school students.

Barr is a student in the Lawrence Virtual School, and his daily routine is unique.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. he does most, if not all of his schoolwork. His teachers post his assignments online, using programs like Apex and Blackboard. The websites have all of the necessary information for his schooling. The sites have his grades, drop boxes to drop off assignments, and calendars to show the due dates of all his assignments.

At about 1 p.m., when traditional students are finishing lunch and preparing to go to their last couple classes of the day, Barr is often done with his work. From now up until about 10 p.m., he does what he wants. He sometimes does more of his work right before he goes to sleep. That is his average school day.

“You don’t need very much time to do school work,” Barr said. He said that time at a traditional school gets inflated due to a lecture and busy work. He enjoys the “laid back” style of getting his work done whenever he wants.

The students primarily interact with their teachers by e-mail, but students are their parents are supposed to participate in a phone conference with a teacher once a month.

His bedroom became his classroom with the addition of laptop computer supplied by the Lawrence School District.

Barr said he enjoys the “flexibility” as well as not wasting his time at school all day. He added that he does learn a lot. He said when he does his assigned reading, he sometimes goes online to research it further.

A couple days after his mother sent in the application, Barr heard back that he’d been accepted into the program. He then went and spoke with a counselor at the school and chose what classes he would take. On the first day of school for the Lawrence School District, Barr went to a 5-hour orientation session. At this meeting, all the virtual school’s students were taught how to use the online programs, told how the classes would work, and sent home with their laptop computer.

Teri Barr, Alex’s mother, thinks that the program is only fitted for certain students. “I think it’s a good program for Alex,” she said. “Since he’s a senior, we agreed to do it,” she said. “If he was any younger we wouldn’t have agreed to it because socializing is important.”

“He’s pretty independent and disciplined,” she said. He seems to be learning the same things, and he often talks about his Spanish class being 'intense,'” she said.

Barr’s government and economics teacher is Kim Hett, and she teaches about 70 students in the program Alex is in.

She admits the learning is different without discussions. Listening to peer’s opinions is an aspect of learning that the program is without, she said.

“We’re trying to close that gap,” Hett said. Teachers encourage online discussions between students.

Barr has a homeroom teacher, Rachel Long, who he talks with once a month with his mother. She said that social interaction was more limited, but that interaction is still present in extracurricular activities outside of school.

Long’s opinion of the student’s social interaction is shared with Virtual School Assistant Principal, Jana Lloyd. She said that the students have incredible freedom with their learning and that they still are social.

“I think there is a give and take,” Lloyd said.

Barr’s counselor at Lawrence Free State High School, his old high school, told him about Lawrence Virtual School between his sophomore and junior years of high school. He didn’t end up applying until this last summer before his senior year.

Barr’s diploma will say Lawrence Free State High School on it, and his report cards already do.

Alex Barr – student – (785)-424-3172
Teri Barr – Alex’s mother – (785)-841-1234
Kim Hett – Barr’s government and economics teacher – khett@usd497.org
Rachael Long – Barr’s math and homeroom teacher – rlong@usd497.org
Jana Lloyd – Lawrence Virtual School Assistant Principal - jlloyd@usd497.org

The speed limit sign says 30, but 85 percent of drivers are going five or more miles over the limit. Residents are scared to leave their dogs and kids in the front yard for fear they might get hit by oncoming traffic. Mailboxes have been smashed and replaced dozens of times.

And resident Greg Robinson of Trail Road said that his junker car that he parks on the street has been hit three times since he moved there two and a half years ago. “That’s my personal ‘traffic calming device,’” said Robinson.

The phrase “traffic calming device” refers to any number of additions to a road in an attempt to slow traffic down. This includes anything from speed bumps and “speed cushions” (speed bumps with grooves cut into them for emergency vehicles) to the increasingly popular roundabout. And Trail Road needs something like that, residents argue.

This stretch of Trail Road, between Lawrence Avenue and Kasold Drive, is designated as a “collector” street, which means it’s built more as a main road instead of the residential area it runs through. The wider construction, which allows for parking on the north side, mean that drivers feel more comfortable going higher and higher speeds. Those high speeds spell trouble for the residents.

“It’s a raceway,” said Carol McCaffrey, who also lives on Trail Road. “My cat got hit out there and they didn’t even stop.”

Citizens like Robinson grew so concerned that they brought this issue to the Traffic Safety Commission during their monthly meeting earlier this month. The commission approved the measure, which sent it to the city commission. The city commission voted it down.

“The city turned it down because no one from the neighborhood showed up,” said David Hamby, chair of the Traffic Safety Commission. “I usually base my decisions based on the input of the neighbors.” He also said it’s easy for the city to turn down projects like this if no one from the community shows up to support it.

Even though residents didn’t show up to the city commission meeting, they’ve still noticed the problems. Robert Heacock has had his mailbox knocked over a few times, as well as a little tree in his yard. He says some of the speeding is probably due to students leaving Free State High School, which is nearby. Walter Wondrack, also a Trail Road resident, has had his mailbox destroyed several times as well. “I think [speeding] is an increasing problem in Lawrence,” said Wondrack. “They just drive too fast.”

Not all residents feel the same way about roundabouts or speed bumps, though. Heacock, who lived on the East Coast before moving to Lawrence, said that he’s not adverse to a roundabout. McCaffrey also agreed that something physical had to be put on the road to slow drivers down. “You can put up signs, but that’s not going to slow them,” McCaffrey said. She’s all for roundabouts and speed bumps, just as long as they’re close enough together to not let drivers speed up in between them.

Wondrack feels differently. “That’s a bunch of nonsense, I don’t know what they can do to slow people down, “ said Wondrack. “Roundabouts are nonsense. Speed bumps might work, though.”

Since the city turned down the proposal, residents are back to the beginning. They may even have to start the process of putting in a request to the Traffic Safety Commission all over again. Residents like Greg Robinson are doing what they can to help slow the traffic. Heacock even suggested watching for repeat offenders and handing their license plate numbers in to the city.

“They’ll do something,” Robinson said. “I just hope they’ll do it right.”

Drivers face harsh road conditions during winter. Snow and ice aren't the only issues drivers worry about on the road. KUJH's Bill Walberg explains more about this bumpy situation.

Aly Rodee drove her white Honda sedan down 15th Street on the way to class, until she got lost--in a line of potholes.

“I find myself getting lost in more potholes this year than last year,” Rodee said. “My car is probably going to end up in the shop.”

The last few weeks of winter have given auto shops a boost in business, according to local auto mechanics. Residents made their way to tire and auto-repair shops when the spring-like weather melted the snow and exposed the potholes last week.

Trevor Locke, a service advisor for Laird Noller Auto Dealer, has already seen an increase of customers in the service department.

“This time of year we get a lot more people in for realignment cases. People drive over the potholes and it throws their alignment off. We don’t have exact numbers right now because the season isn’t over, but the trend is definitely there,” Locke said.

Alignment issues do cause for drivers problems, but cost less than other pothole problems, like rim and tire damage. Realignment costs ranges from $40 to $70 depending on the car, but fixing or replacing a rim or tire can range from $100-$250.

Mike Grammer, the Service Manager for Don’s Auto Shop, explained that during this time of year, it just takes one pothole to cost you a lot of money.

“If you just drive over one of these at around 45 mph you could throw your steering off; bend your rim; or even pop your tire which can cost you a lot more,” Grammer said.

Grammer offered some advice to save you, the driver, some money.

“Wait until the pothole season is over in about 30-45 days and then get your alignment done.”

Lawrence residents’ pothole problems will increase in numbers because there is still a chance for snow and ice in the upcoming weeks.

Dena Mezger, the associate director for infrastructure and maintenance of public works, says the numbers will probably increase from last year.

“The number of potholes went down last year probably because it was a warm winter. This year, because we did have a major freeze, it would not surprise me if the number of potholes continue to increase,” Mezger said.

The Public Works Department is going to dent its problem with their $2.7 million budget to repave roads, clear snow and ice, and fill the potholes.

The budget is down from last year because a decrease in city revenue. Mezger says the decrease in the budget will not prevent her department from fixing the problem.

“Since we had a major freeze this year, we have to watch our budget pretty closely. Our pothole situation has been a lot worse during the past few weeks because of the weather. But if we do need more money, there should be ways to get it,” Mezger said.

Lawrence has been working on the situation since the warm weather arrived. The Public Works Department has had their workers out in force to fill the holes temporarily.

City workers, like Rupert Holliday, have been filling approximately 20 holes each day. Rupert Holliday, known as the pothole king by his coworkers, explained his daily routine.

“We clean out the holes and fill them. Then we put a ‘wacker-packer’ layer on top that should make the temporary fix last until summer. When we get to summer, we’ll put some hot mix in and permanently fix it with hot asphalt,” Holliday said.

Aly Rodee was lost in a world of potholes, but has seen progress around Lawrence and the University of Kansas campus.

“I’ve seen people put some sort of asphalt in to fill the holes. It seems to work for a while, so it’s nice for a while. The only problem is that it doesn’t last that long,” Rodee said.

Residents, like Rodee, can help out with the problem by reporting potholes on the Lawrence Public Works pothole website or by calling 832-3456.

A new development code could change the design of roads in Lawrence. The design would focus on cutting down the need for cars. The problem is, the Lawrence Bicycle Advisory Committee isn't sure it will help bike riders. KUJH-TV's Mark Dent tells us why the design could cause problems.

The doping controversy disrupting the world’s cycling community means little to Lawrence riders. They face a bigger problem: Traditional Neighborhood Design.

Members of the Lawrence Bicycle Advisory Committee said Traditional Neighborhood Design will negatively affect biking in Lawrence.

Traditional Neighborhood Design is a new Smart Code for building proposed for Lawrence by PlaceMakers. PlaceMakers is a firm that creates regulations for the proposed design style.

This design plan promotes building residential, commercial and business areas in the same neighborhood.

One of PlaceMakers’ main goals is to help people rely less on cars.

“We want people to have more choices about how they get around,” PlaceMakers representative Jennifer Hurley said. “It’s about not having to be auto dependent.”

According to Hurley, Traditional Neighborhood Design benefits bike riders. It uses narrow, two-lane roads that use on-street parking and trees on the sides of the street to slow traffic.

This design differs from how most modern roads are constructed. At a recent city commission meeting, Bill Dennis, Director of Design for PlaceMakers, used the example of Clinton Parkway. He said cars go faster than the designated 45 mph speed limit because the road is too wide and straight. Dennis said that environment isn’t safe for cyclists.

Trent McKinley, member of the Lawrence Bicycle Advisory Committee, disagreed. He said PlaceMakers’ plans of on-street parking and especially narrow, two-lane roads could make biking dangerous.

“Sharing the road with a narrow lane creates its own set of problems,” McKinley said. “If you have two cars passing one another, and you’re riding with your tires in the gutter, it just doesn’t leave a lot of room. I would be concerned about bicycles and cars sharing the same space.”

McKinley said bike lanes make narrow roads safer. According to lawrenceplanning.org, Lawrence has 11.6 miles of bike lanes. Cyclists are in favor of bike lanes because they provide protection from traffic.

But PlaceMakers is unlikely to build the lanes on its streets.

“We’re not strong proponents of bike lanes,” Hurley said. “The streets should be civilized enough and safe enough for bikes to cohabitate with cars.”

Because PlaceMakers wants bikes to share the road with cars, it does not construct bike paths in its neighborhoods either. It designs small parks ideal for walking, not biking.

“I’d rather bike on a path,” McKinley said. “I think that’s more popular. The paths oftentimes are designed to tie recreational areas together.”

If the Smart Code becomes an option for building in Lawrence, it could harm Lawrence’s reputation as a strong cycling community. In 2004, Lawrence received a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community award from the League of American Bicyclists. Only 44 cities have received the award.

The award is based on five categories, including engineering. To have good engineering, roads must be designed to make space for bikes. Streets built using Traditional Neighborhood Design will create less space.

That wouldn’t bode well for Lawrence. Elizabeth Preston, League of American Bicyclists Director of Communication, said the city’s engineering was already “shaky.”

Of course, Traditional Neighborhood Design might not be all negative. According to Preston, Lawrence received excellent grades in the award’s category of driver/bike rider education. Based on those grades, it shouldn’t be too hard for cars and bikes to adjust to the Smart Code.

“They have a highly advertised ‘share the road’ campaign,” she said.

The city is scheduled to make more decisions about the Smart Code in two or three weeks. PlaceMakers has already proposed using Traditional Neighborhood Design downtown, at 19th and Haskell and several other locations.

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