Current Issues in Journalism

Fix The Bricks

Anyone who happens to walk down the block of 4th and 5th of Indiana may notice a bit of roller coaster while they walk. Thats because from house number 400 to 424 the sidewalk is very uneven and somewhat of a dirt sidewalk instead of a brick one.

After walking on the sidewalk, I made some observations. I notice that there are somewhat "plateaus" from 408 to 412, in the fact that some of the brick side rises up and at the same time craters inward. Then from 414 to 418 the brick sidewalk ends and becomes a dirt sidewalk and then picks up around 420 and continues on until you reach the end of the block.

One resident has noticed the sidewalk and thinks that it doesn't look nice. Patty Platt has been living on the street for three months and says " A lot of people walk on the sidewalk with their dogs in the evening when the sun goes down, it can be dangerous." Platt also thinks that the sidewalks can be dangerous after it rains and people are walking in the mud. Platt does have a right to be concerned about the safety of sidewalks. On the website Metroped.org, it talks about sidewalk surface problems. According to the website, that irregular surfaces can be challenging for pedestrians who are dependent on mechanical assistance.

So I decided to call the City Of Lawrence Planning Department to see what they could do to try to get the sidewalk fixed. After spending all day calling around and being forward to this person to this person, I finally was able to get ahold of Dena Mezger , Assistant Director of the Lawrence Public Works Office. I was not able to speak to her directly due to being in class all day the time she called. But Mezger left a very detailed message. I find out that she says "It's actually not the responsibility of the city on maintenance of sidewalks, but of the individual property owner of neighborhoods and businesses." Although this was a disappointment to hear, she did offer up some good news.

I was able to today get ahold of Mezger and talk to her. According to her, the Commission is considering working with property owners who cannot afford to get maintenance done however it is an ongoing discussion and there is no exact time period when it will actually happern. I went back to Patty Platt to get some info about her property owner, however she didn't feel comfortable giving that out. However a friend of her neighbor gave me a name of one of the property owners by the name of Mike West. However I was unable to get in contact with him after calling several times and didn't want a lawsuit for posting his number without his permission. However Dena Mezger gave her number (785) 832-3134 for anyone who wanted more information about the new process.