The City of Wichita City Council voted 6-0 to approve the design concept, adopt a revised budget and authorize Supplemental Design Agreement No. 1 for Maple Street between 130th Street West and 160th Street West, advancing the project in the 2025–2034 Capital Improvement Program.

The project, presented by Paul Gunzelman of Public Works and Utilities, will redesign Maple Street to accommodate projected traffic growth, add a 10-foot shared-use path on the north side and a 6-foot sidewalk on the south side, convert portions of the road to a three-lane section with a two-way left-turn lane, and install a roundabout at Maple and 150th Street. Council approved initiating the full $2,330,333 budget for 2025 and acknowledged the CIP includes an additional $14,700,000 for 2027–28, yielding a total program budget of $17,030,000; staff also approved a supplemental design fee of $1,400,000 (bringing total design fees to about $1,582,000).

Why it matters: the project is funded by local sales tax in the capital improvement program and is intended to address current and forecasted traffic (staff cited existing volumes of about 6,000–9,500 vehicles per day and projected 2046 volumes of roughly 11,500–18,000 vehicles per day), add pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and coordinate with Sedgwick County and WAMPO path projects.

Staff told the council they coordinated timing with Sedgwick County to avoid rework where the county’s PATH project connects to Maple. Paul Gunzelman said the county moved its project schedule in the Transportation Improvement Program to improve construction coordination with the city’s anticipated 2027 work: “We worked with Sedgwick County Public Works, and they moved their project out 1 year in the TIP to accommodate coordination.”

Council members and the public raised design concerns. Council member Johnson asked whether the roundabout center would include public art; Paul Gunzelman said that detail is still to be determined: “We haven't determined that yet. We're still very in the concept stages.” Council member Glasscock emphasized protecting the tree canopy and minimizing right-of-way impacts for property owners; staff said they would continue to meet with affected property owners as design progresses and would return impacts to the District Advisory Board if necessary. Resident Moe Lawland, whose property lies near 160th and Maple, said he supports improvements but urged the city to revisit the roundabout option because of school- and bus-related traffic: “I have concerns, first of all, about the roundabout. … I've seen roundabouts around the state in the areas that work great for low volume traffic, but I've seen a practicality to use on the roundabouts. They jam up when there's heavy traffic.”

The council’s approval authorizes staff to proceed with the concept design, execute the supplemental agreement, and adopt the amending resolution so the project can move into final design and later construction. Staff said construction is currently budgeted in 2027–28 in the CIP; exact construction phasing and right-of-way impacts will be determined in upcoming design steps.