Brick Streets & Sidewalks Policy

Final Policy

Brick Streets and Sidewalks Policy approved 10/01/2024

Brick Policy Staff Report dated 10/01/2024

For questions and comments contact: Cece Riley, Transportation Planner II criley@lawrenceks.org 785-832-3155

Purpose

The Brick Streets and Sidewalks Policy aims to balance preservation of Lawrence’s historic brick streets and sidewalks with the need for modern accessibility and infrastructure maintenance.

The policy was developed through a city-wide community engagement driven approach to understand the communities values, while adhering to engineering standards, asset management best practice, accessibility standards, and practical implementation strategies.
Within the policy you’ll find design and construction standards, maintenance standards, and preservation guidelines for both brick sidewalks and brick streets.

---

Policy Development Process and History

The Brick Streets and Sidewalks Policy was possible due to the culmination of years of community advocacy work and engineering standard review and considerations that came before it. The policy development process included 6-months of active community engagement and staff worktime, built off the foundation of successes and setbacks we as a community have learned from over the past 10+ years of work. This policy aims to balance a number of competing values and desires with the real-world fiscal implications associated
with managing a historic asset.

The staff working group and steering committee collaborated on the Brick Streets and Sidewalks Policy and are confident this policy makes strides towards supporting a unique community where all people can live, work, learn, and play safely, sustainably, and in a place
that feels like home.

Additional information on the history of this topic can be found on the City’s featured news site.

—

9/17/2024: City Commission; 5:45 PM @ City Hall Commission Chamber; Recording, Agenda Item, Staff Report
*Staff requested the Commissioners receive the policy and direct staff of any recommended changes. They recommended approving the policy, with the changes recommended from Historic Resources Commission. The City Manager will receive the policy and approve the final administrative policy.

8/15/2024: Historic Resources Commission: 6:00 PM @ City Hall Commission Chamber
*HRC recommended conditional approval of the policy & forwarded the policy to City Commission. The condition HRC recommended was to expand the Brick Sidewalk Permissive Mapped Area Recording, Agenda, Staff Memo

8/05/2024: Multimodal Transportation Commission; 5:00 PM @ City Hall Commission Chamber
*MMTC recommended conditional approval of the policy & forwarded the policy to City Commission. The condition MMTC recommended was to permit any property owner in the City of Lawrence to construct a brick sidewalk, however only those inside the Brick Sidewalk Permissive Area may benefit from cost partnering & city contractors. Recording, Agenda, Staff Memo, Flowchart Example

7/22/2024: BRICK STREETS + SIDEWALKS (BS+S) SUBCOMMITTEE  MEETING #4
*Reviewed public comment on draft policy & discuss any final changes to draft. Staff Memo, Recording, Presentation

7/18/2024: Historic Resources Commission; 6:00 PM @ City Hall Commission Chamber
*Staff requesting feedback for the draft policy. Recording, Agenda

7/1/2024: Study Session with MMTC
*This was an opportunity for the commission to focus on a single topic and ask questions to staff. Recording, Agenda, Staff Memo

6/11/2024 – 6/25/2024: OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
**Draft Brick Policy Public Comment Summary

6/20/2024: BRICK STREETS + SIDEWALKS OPEN HOUSE Brick Street + Sidewalks Informational Posters
*Open House held at Lawrence Public Library, written feedback collected.

6/7/2024: BRICK STREETS + SIDEWALKS (BS+S) SUBCOMMITTEE  MEETING #3 Recording, Presentation
*Reviewed a draft policy document and agreed to publish it for public comment the following week.

5/16/2024: BRICK STREETS + SIDEWALKS (BS+S) SUBCOMMITTEE  MEETING #2.5 Recording, Presentation
*Continued Discussion from meeting #2 to determine a policy direction for staff to use as a framework for drafting the policy.

5/07/2024: BRICK STREETS + SIDEWALKS (BS+S) SUBCOMMITTEE  MEETING #2: Recording, Presentation
* Discussed Accessibility standards (ADA and PROWAG), public feedback from values survey, and policy direction. Additional meeting to be scheduled in order to determine policy direction as the subcommittee needed additional time to discuss and decide.

4/4/2024 – 4/19/2024: VALUES SURVEY RESULTS
**Public Comment Summary Values Survey

04/11/2024 & 04/17/2024: TABLED AT LAWRENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY

04/04/2024: BRICK STREETS + SIDEWALKS OPEN HOUSE AND VALUES DISCUSSION: Brick Street + Sidewalks Informational Posters
*Ranked Values Survey shared at meeting and online.

 

Additional Information

City of Lawrence Street Maintenance Program
City of Lawrence Sidewalk Improvement Program
City of Lawrence Historic Resources
City of Lawrence ADA Transition Plan for the Public ROW 

Kansas State Statute (K.S.A. 12-1808) governing responsibility for sidewalk maintenance
Accessibility Guidelines for the Public Right-of-Way (PROWAG)