Lawrence Journal-World 01-28-15

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WEDNESDAY • JANUARY 28 • 2015

Voters: Keep local option budget at 33% By Elliot Hughes Twitter: @elliothughes12

Lawrence voters overwhelmingly approved the Lawrence school district keeping its local option budget at 33 percent. Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew said Tuesday that 84 percent of registered

voters in the school voters will allow the district voted yes, district to keep its loand 16 percent voted cal option budget at 33 no. Nearly 17,300 balpercent indefinitely. lots were cast in the Had voters denied the county’s first ever request, it would have mail-ballot election, SCHOOLS forced the district to an almost 33 percent lower its local option turnout, which Shew de- budget to 31 percent, resultscribed as “excellent.” ing in a funding decrease of The measure approved by approximately $1.4 million.

“I want to thank the Lawrence voters for approving the request to maintain the current level of funding,” Lawrence Superintendent Rick Doll said. “We never take for granted our citizens and are very thankful for their support.” Lawrence School Board President Shannon Kimball said she was “thrilled” with

Keeping things moving

the results, which surpassed her expectations. “Over 80 percent approval — I thought we hit the ball out of the park with the bond issue,” she said, referring to the $92.5 million bond issue that won 72 percent approval in 2013. Please see BUDGET, page 2A Doll

CITY COMMISSION

Wicked pulls request for $300,000 guarantee By Chad Lawhorn Twitter: @clawhorn_ljw

Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo

THE NEW TWO-LANE ROUNDABOUT ON WAKARUSA DRIVE is the largest in Lawrence. It intersects Legends and Inverness Drives. While some motorists have found it confusing or even unnecessary, the city says it is safer than conventional intersections that have lights or four-way stopping.

New roundabout may be confusing at first, but it’s much safer, city says By Caitlin Doornbos Twitter: @CaitlinDoornbos

The Wakarusa roundabout intersecting Inverness and Legends drives has been twisting tongues and traffic in the three weeks since its completion. While the articulate person may be able to say “Wakarusa roundabout” three times fast, it would take a pretty experienced driver to lap the new interchange at high speeds. City Engineer David Cronin said that’s the reason roundabouts are preferable to traffic lights or four-way stops: safety.

2, is the first of its kind — and the largest roundabout — in Lawrence. Before its installation, the intersection was a fourway stop. “An intersection with a signal has 32 conflict points with all the turning movements,” Cronin said. “A roundabout just has the entry and exit conflict points.” And that’s good news This diagram, courtesy of the City of Lawrence, shows possible for accident rates. collision points in a roundabout versus those at an intersection. “The typical accident or crash that you see at The roundabout’s design thus reducing the likeli- a roundabout is a rearkeeps speeds low and hood of an injury acci- end, whereas at an interreduces the number of dent, Cronin said. section, it’s a high-speed “conflict points,” or opThe multilane roundPlease see TRAFFIC, page 2A portunities for collision, about, which opened Jan.

INSIDE

Sunny, warmer Business Classified Comics Crave

High: 70

Low: 35

Today’s forecast, page 6A

2A 1C-6C 8C 1CR-2CR

Deaths Events listings Horoscope Opinion

2A Puzzles 4A, 2B Sports 7C Television 5A

7C 1B-4B 6A, 2B

A request for the city to provide a $300,000 loan guarantee to Wicked Broadband is now off the table, but so too is a project that would bring super-fast broadband service to downtown or parts of East Lawrence. Joshua MontI appreciate gomery, co-owner of Lawrence-based you bringing Wicked Broadband, this compromise surprised city commissioners on Tues- forward because day by pulling his re- I don’t want to quest for a $300,000 see you leave loan guarantee. Montgomery had the community.” been seeking various loan guarantees — City Commissioner or grants from the Jeremy Farmer city for more than a year to spur a pilot project that would bring gigabit Internet service to downtown and parts of East Lawrence. Montgomery on Tuesday offered commissioners a compromise: He would pull his request for the loan guarantee, but continue to seek an annual waiver of $20,000 in franchise fees that would be due to the city, and an agreement that gives Wicked more ability to make its own splices into city-owned fiber optic cable rather than being forced to hire a third-party contractor. Without the loan guarantee, Montgomery said, the company would alter its gigabit plans. Instead of targeting about 300 addresses in the downtown area, Montgomery said he would now focus on a smaller area just east of Ninth and Iowa streets and an area near Clinton Parkway and Wakarusa Drive where Montgomery lives.

Please see WICKED, page 6A

Busy election mix With Tuesday’s filing deadline passed, there’s a full field of candidates for the upcoming Lawrence City Commission and school board races. Page 3A

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Vol.157/No.28 18 pages


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