Wichita staff presents traffic-calming pilot showing roughly 4 mph speed reduction

Paul Gunzelman, a city staff presenter, told the Wichita City Council that a recent set of traffic-calming trials produced measurable but modest speed reductions and outlined costs and next steps. "These techniques resulted in approximately a 4 mile an hour speed reduction along the corridor," Gunzelman said during a staff presentation.

Gunzelman said staff deploys a range of measures — tubular markers, curb extensions, raised intersections and lane reductions — after engineers evaluate speed and crash data and local street geometry. He described temporary tubular markers used on 2nd Street and other corridors, saying a temporary pair costs approximately $3,500 to install while a permanent concrete pair runs about $20,000. He said the pilot work has used neighborhood improvement program funding and that permanent installations generally would be special assessed to the defined benefit district.

The presentation named a number of locations where the techniques were tested or installed, including 2nd Street (where staff reported a 28 mph posted limit and lower average speeds after work), 27th Street from Glenn to Seneca (where curb extensions and a mini-median produced an average reduction of about 4 mph), and lane reductions on Waco and Lincoln Street between Woodlawn and Rock, where staff said the conversion did not reduce overall traffic throughput.

Council members pressed staff on process and property-owner consent. In response, Gunzelman said crews attempt to work with property owners and that concern sometimes arises only when crews begin construction; for permanent installations, staff typically defines a benefit district and pursues special assessment. "That we would define a benefit district," Gunzelman said when explaining how special assessments would be applied.

Councilors also discussed how requests are evaluated: staff conducts traffic counts, reviews crash history and examines side-obstruction issues before making recommendations. Gunzelman noted that not every complaint reflects measured speeding, and that some issues are driven more by geometry and signal timing than by raw speed. He said staff has submitted certain signal-related issues for highway safety improvement funding to address left-turn conflicts.

Members cited acute speeding incidents as context for action; an unidentified council member reported a vehicle being clocked at 102 mph on 2nd Street during a recent enforcement check, a detail Gunzelman and staff said underscores the safety concern on some corridors.

Gunzelman said the city will continue to pilot designs, work with planning engineers and developers, and review subdivision regulations (Article 7) to narrow some collector street sections. He recommended further study and targeted installations rather than blanket application; council members asked staff to continue evaluating results and potential funding mechanisms.

The presentation concluded with staff available for follow-up; no formal action or vote was taken at the meeting.