Residents and commissioners warn Lone Elm and 175th not ready for proposed truck volumes

City engineers and the applicant described a traffic analysis that forecasts as many as 500 truck trips per day associated with development phases; the applicant said Lineage’s internal operations are likely to account for roughly 250 of those trucks while the traffic study modeled the full development scenario. Charlie Love, the city’s chief development engineer, said the study found the existing signals at Lone Elm and 175th would operate at acceptable levels for the phase under review, but he and other staff emphasized that the KDOT US‑169 corridor study has only just begun and that no major corridor improvements are programmed in the city’s five‑year CIP.

Residents repeatedly testified the current two‑lane Lone Elm Road has no shoulder in places, potholes and limited capacity for large truck volumes. Multiple speakers said trucks already bypass weigh stations and that local intersections and park access could be impeded on game days. Commissioners asked the applicant to explain operational controls for arrivals and whether the facility can prevent on‑site stacking and excessive idling; Lineage representatives said the anchor customer would control about 80% of operations and that driveway length and two inbound guard lanes would allow accumulation without encroaching on Lone Elm.

Commissioners requested additional traffic data collected on typical school‑year weekdays and required that future phases return with updated traffic studies and any needed mitigation. The commission also flagged long‑term funding and multi‑jurisdictional coordination for widening or other improvements to 175th Street as an unresolved issue to be addressed at the City Council stage.