Lawrence Talks Podcast S3 Ep. 13 - Theory Meets Practice in OWL w/ Ward Lyles and Eric Kirkendall

S3 Ep. 13 Summary:

Recently, OWL residents saw new traffic diverters and barriers installed in the neighborhood. President of OWLA Eric Kirkendall and fellow resident and Professor of Urban Planning at KU Ward Lyles join me to discuss the timeline of events that led to the pilot program and the theory that supports the particular arrangements.

Episode Notes:

As the neighborhood and city seek to determine the best fit in response to OWL residential concerns over troubling traffic concerns (by both internal traffic and incoming traffic), the neighborhood has voiced additional concerns. While this episode seeks primarily to inform the public about the pilot program and some of its theoretical underpinnings, there are questions that we were not able to address. In response to this, a follow-up episode giving voice to these concerns is in the works.

In this episode, however, Eric and Ward concede that the neighborhood will have to consider questions regarding the aesthetic effects the diverters and barriers will have on the neighborhood, whether the traffic being diverted to other streets will be so great that the safety generated for some does not outweigh the danger caused for others, and whether the solutions chosen by consultants were better in comparison to alternatives.