8A
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2009
PRESENT
2009 STOP DAY
THURSDAY $3 BUD PRODUCTS SEAGRAMS-7 HONEY DRINKS
FRIDAY 50-CENT DRAWS
---
$100
GIFT CARD DRAWING FROM THE GROVE TOMORROW
---
NEW YEARS TICKETS ON SALE NOW. PURCHASE IN ADVANCE AT THE CLUB!
ABE&JAKE'S 8 EAST SIXTH STREET·LAWRENCE KS LANDING
abejakes.com·841-5855·18 to dance, 21 to drink
SAFETY
Charles Soules, director of Public Works of Lawrence, gives a presentation to the city commissioners on the proposed lighting of 12th Street from the Oread Hotel to the student ghetto with motion sensor lights. Student Senate and the City of Lawrence will fund this project in hopes that students will use this street as a safer alternative to the unlit streets in the area.
Howard Ting/KANSAN
Lighting project's details remain undetermined
BY BRANDON SAYERS bsayers@kansan.com
City Commissioners unanimously agreed Tuesday to submit a grant application that would go toward funding a lighted path connecting the University and downtown Lawrence areas. However, they also agreed that there were still details of the project that needed more consideration.
"I think it's a great project but it's a little bit unformed at this point," said Robert Chestnut, Lawrence mayor.
Charles Soules, director of public works, described project plans to the commissioners at their weekly meeting and asked them to submit an application on behalf of the city for consideration of a Transportation Enhancement Grant. Then the commissioners opened the meeting up to public comment. Four members of the public offered their opinions, and three of them voiced concerns they said they hoped would be addressed.
One community member said she was concerned with the appearance of the lighting structures because she didn't think they fit in with the look of the neighborhood. The proposed lights would be four feet tall and placed at 20-foot intervals. They would also be equipped with motion sensors to turn them on and off as people passed.
"I don't know if this is the best use of these grants," she said.
Commissioner Aron Cromwell later voiced similar concerns, saying that he thought it was a "great project" but that the aesthetics of the path, and specifically the type of lighting structures, needed to be discussed further.
Commissioner Lance Johnson also had questions about the appearance of the path, saying the motion sensor lights could become annoying as they were "turning off and on," but he also added that he supported moving the project forward and thought these were details that could be worked out later on.
Another community member said he thought the city should be focused on other projects considering the current economic conditions.
"I think it is a good idea," the community member said. "But not now."
OUTLINE OF CITY'S PLANS
Mark Thiel, the assistant public works director for the city, outlined the city's plans for the lighting project in a memo to the City Manager's office.
Thiel said a primary route would run along the north side of 12th Street from Oread Avenue to Vermont Street, with pedestrian control crosswalks near Kentucky and Tennessee streets, and then cross diagonally through South Park along an existing sidewalk to the intersection at North Park Street.
Thiel said the secondary route would run along the north side of 14th Street from Louisiana to Ohio streets, then turn north along the west side of Ohio Street and continue until it met the primary route.
Thiel said the width of the path was yet to be determined but that the existing sidewalk was in good condition and would more than likely not be replaced.
Thiel said the largest amount of funding for the project would come from the Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG. The city has already applied for more than $200,000 in these funds and the application is pending final approval.
Almost $175,000 would be funded by the transportation enhancement grant, which is also now pending final approval.
Thiel said $150,000 would be funded by the University and that the city has received a verbal commitment for these funds.
the city has received a verbal commitment for these funds. An additional $50,000 would be funded by the city, Thiel said pending final approval.
Margene Swarts, assistant director for the city's planning and development services, said last month that the city expected to have about $800,000 in available funds. CDBG funding is provided annually by the federal government.
Swarts said the Community Development Advisory Committee would review the applications and make recommendations on grant allocations in May. City Commissioners will make the final decision on grant allotment.
If all the city's pending applications are proposed, Thiel said he expected the project to cost a total of more than $575,000. About $530,000 is needed to begin the primary route of the project.
A third community member said he was worried that the people residing directly adjacent to the paths have not been heard from yet, and he added that bicyclists may pose safety concerns to pedestrians on the path.
Elise Higgins, Topeka senior and community affairs director for Student Senate, has been one of the community leaders who worked with city officials on the project and was in attendance for Tuesday's meeting. She also gave public comment and said she thought the concerns brought up
Thiel said the city planned to complete the project in two separate phases, beginning with the primary route and constructing the secondary route later, pending funding approval. Thiel said the design is expected to begin by June or July 2010 and construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
at the meeting were valid ones and that she would try to make sure they were considered.
Thiel said the city has received official endorsements from Student Senate, the KU Transit Commission, the KU Campus Safety Advisory Board, the KU Public Safety Office, the KU Pan-Hellenic Association and the KU Scholarship Hall Council. He also said he anticipated an endorsement from the Oread Neighborhood Association.
However, she said it was important to not let these prevent the project from moving forward.
"Safety is an important social issue," Higgins said.
Vice Mayor Mike Amyx agreed with Higgins on that point, saying he thought safety was an important issue to consider. He added that there should be enough time to work out the details of the project.
Edited by Samantha Foster
INTERNATIONAL Militia force cracks down on student protesters
TEHRAN, Iran — Hard-line militiamen firing tear gas and throwing stones stormed a crowd of thousands of university students protesting for a second day Tuesday, as Iran threatened a tougher crackdown on the opposition after the biggest anti-government demonstrations in months.
More than 200 people were arrested in Tehran on Monday during protests by tens of thousands at universities nationwide, and Iran's top prosecutor warned further unrest would not be tolerated. He hinted authorities could even pursue the top opposition
Masked motorcyclists — likely hard-line militiamen — harassed Mousavi at his Tehran office on Tuesday. An angry Mousavi confronted them, daring them, "Kill me!" before being hustled away by aides, according to pro-opposition Web sites.
leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, an escalation the government has so far balked at in Iran's postelection turmoil.
Authorities appear concerned that the protest movement could pick up new steam after Monday's demonstrations, in which students clashed with police and militiamen in the streets of Tehran.
a fierce crackdown since the summer crushed the mass
Form
protests that erupted after June's disputed presidential election. But Monday's unrest showed how students have revitalized the movement. They showed an increased boldness, openly breaking the biggest taboo in Iran, burning pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and chanting slogans against him.
The protests spilled over into a second day Tuesday. Several thousand students rallied in Tehran University, chanting slogans and waving Iranian flags in front of the Engineering College when they were assaulted by hard-line Basij militiamen, witnesses said.
L0 char
R Kam isn't fans play high metu
In Leag that, cially abou
Associated Press
"y it an said.