Flory Hall in the Douglas County Fairgrounds

2120 Harper St.

The City of Lawrence has announced the next phase of the Downtown Master Plan planning process, which includes several upcoming community engagement activities.
 
Earlier this year, the City, working with consultants Houseal Lavigne Associates (HLA), initiated community outreach and engagement for the Downtown Master Plan. Those activities included community workshops, an online survey and an online map-building tool. Additionally, interested residents had the opportunity to complete their own DIY workshop kits with their community groups.
 
In the next phase, participants will help define the vision, goals and objectives of the Downtown Master Plan. It will begin with a visioning workshop held from 6 - 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at Flory Hall in the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St. The visioning workshop is open to the public and all ages are welcome.
 
Attendees at the visioning workshop will work in small groups as they consider how development opportunities, streetscapes, open spaces, and other land use elements will fit into the future of Downtown Lawrence. At the end of the workshop, each group will present maps of their ideas to the rest of the participants. HLA will review those ideas to create a framework that incorporates the workshop findings.
 
The city will conduct a visual preference survey in which respondents will be able to share their opinions on the future appearance of Downtown Lawrence. The survey will be available on the project website starting Wednesday, Oct. 2.

In addition, the city plans Student workshops for students in kindergarten through 12th grade to share their opinions on Downtown Lawrence through a guided conversation. Dates and locations will be announced later this fall.