ROBERT A. SCHEHRER

1105 N. 1723 Rd. Lawrence KS 66049 Phone 785-842-3109

October 19, 2004

 

Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Office P.O. Box 708

Lawrence, KS 66044-0708

 

 

Re: Request for zoning change: Z-09-43-04 Members of the Planning Commission:

 

I am opposed to the zoning change east of Monterey Way extended and north of Peterson Road from RS-2 (Single Family Residential) to PRD-1 (Planned Residential Development).

 

It is my understanding that PRD-1 allows for mixed use residential development which could include high density use. It is also my understanding that some of these units could be rental units. As Lawrence seems to struggle with finding available lots to build individual housing, this only adds to the scarcity of available lots for that purpose. Additionally, adjacent to this proposed development is Hutton Farms, which already is developed and is entirely made up of rental units.

 

My main concern is that Peterson Road is not adequate to handle the increase in traffic during the construction period. My concern also extends to include Folks Road because currently, most traffic on Peterson Road west of Kasold ends up on Folks Road as cars and large trucks use this road to get to the western side of Lawrence by avoiding sixth street. This road is also used by many Free State High School students. This by itself makes safety a major concern. Both roads are posted with a five ton weigh limit, but is frequently disregarded by many trucks which weigh substantially more than five tons. In addition to construction trucks, I have frequently witnessed trucks caring anything from beer to sod.

 

A couple of years ago, Wakarusa Township converted Folks Road from a gravel road to a hard surface road. Because of heavy truck traffic those improvements were destroyed. This summer, the township completely redid that road at a great deal of expense. As a resident of Wakarusa Township, I do not want to pay to have Folks Road resurfaced for the third time in a few years.

One solution might be to narrow down the round-about scheduled to be installed at Peterson and Monterey Way to make it difficult or nearly impossible for large trucks to navigate through. However, before these improvements are made, I respectfully request that you defer any more requests for development in this area.

 

Thank you for your consideration. Respectfully submitted,

 

Madeleine Schehrer

c. Keith Browning, Douglas County Ernest Butell, Wakarusa Township Bill Ahrens, Transportation Planner