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Resident urges lower speed limit on West Sycamore; city outlines options including $7,500 traffic study
Summary
A Tonganoxie resident asked the City Council to lower the 30 mph residential speed limit on West Sycamore. City staff reviewed state rules and suggested three options: commission a traffic study (estimated $7,500), await possible state law change, or reassess after planned nearby development.
Neil Brawley, a Tonganoxie resident, asked the Tonganoxie City Council on June 2 to reduce the posted speed limit on West Sycamore Street from 30 miles per hour to 20.
Brawley said he collected signatures from about 43 neighbors and told the council “30 miles an hour is much too high on that street” because it is narrow, curving and used by many children. “There are a lot of young Children that play ball. The ball goes out in the street,” he said.
The request prompted an extended discussion. Councilmember Partridge said he would “rather err on the side of safety” and that most traffic on the street appears to belong to residents. City Manager George Brekovich told the council that under current Kansas practice “residential areas are 30 miles an hour, 'unless posted otherwise,'” and that cities have only limited opportunities to deviate without following a defined process.
Brekovich outlined three options for the council: commission a formal traffic study (he said staff obtained a cost estimate of about $7,500), wait to see whether the Kansas Legislature adopts a bill that would let cities reduce residential limits to 25 mph without a study, or re-evaluate the posted limit after anticipated nearby construction that could add about 30 homes and change traffic conditions. He also noted engineering observations that West Sycamore’s serpentine design and existing sidewalks may reduce the odds that a study would recommend a lower limit.
No formal motion was made. Councilmembers discussed practical concerns about creating exceptions citywide if one block were reduced and cautioned that posted limits are more effective when uniform. Brekovich told the resident that staff could consider the request for the city’s July 7 community funding discussion or include the study cost in the 2026 budget if the council preferred to pursue it.
The council did not take a formal vote on changing the limit at the meeting.
