City planners are actively involving high school students in their master construction plan for Downtown Lawrence.

On Jan. 31, Douglas County transportation official Jessica Mortinger came to visit science teacher Lisa Ball’s AP Environmental Science classes to talk about how teens can voice their opinions. There was also a question and answer portion in which students were able to ask about the intricacies of the planning process. Mortinger discussed how transportation will improve as well.

“To me, one of the things I really liked hearing about was plans to protect pedestrians and bikers, because we do have a lot of students who walk or bike to school,” Ball said.

Although one of the community workshops available to the public has already passed, the meeting originally scheduled for the evening of Feb. 6 is in the process of being rescheduled. All are encouraged to attend.

“I think it’s really important to know that the city would love to get students involved,” Ball said. “They have several committees, including a sustainability committee….You don’t have to be a member of the committee to attend those meetings, but you can get as involved as you want to. And they value the contribution and thoughts of youth as well as the adults.”