THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2011
PAGE 9
14
TRANSPORTATION
University pays 60K to install four speed cushions off campus
BY CHRISTY NUTT
cnutt@kansan.com
University officials want drivers to slow down for pedestrian safety on roads just northwest of campus. To make that happen, four speed cushions - gentle speed bumps - will be installed at two intersections on West Campus Road.
The University will pay $60,000 to install the speed cushions, which are just outside of the campus' property line. The speed cushions will be installed at the intersections of West Campus Road and Stratford, and 11th and West Campus Rd., by Joseph R. Pearson Hall. Jim Modig, the university's director of design and construction management, said the speed cushions are expected to be in place before students return to classes in August.
A speed cushion is similar to the familiar speed bump except that it rises and stays flat for a distance before falling back to the pavement. The cushions allow buses to pass over the bump with ease, Modig said. KU buses pass through both intersections on their routes.
"Speed cushions don't have as severe of a bump, but enough that you know to slow down." Modig said. "That is the intention to slow traffic down and make crosswalks safer."
Modig said there are safety concerns at both intersections because of the high volume of student pedestrians and traffic. A traffic study conducted by the city showed that approximately 3,700 vehicles passed through the intersection at Stratford and West Campus Road during a 24 hour period. The visibility of oncoming traffic is not good for pedestrians at the 11th Street and West Campus Road intersection, Modig said.
"We want traffic to slow down to make sure pedestrians have time to react to oncoming cars." Modig said.
David Woosley, the city's traffic engineer, said police can't be everywhere enforcing the speed limit at all times and that traffic calming devices, like speed cushions, are the only way to slow traffic down in a problem area.
"Students brought this forward as a safety concern," Modig said.
"The city will put plans together and contract out to have construction take place," Woosley said. "Then KU will reimburse the city for all the costs."
Both intersections are located on city streets, and not KU streets. Modig said the city has been receptive to the project. The University and the city often work as a team on street improvements near university property.
Both locations will have two speed cushions installed on each side of a cross-walk. Half of the $60,000 total is
funded by the Campus Safety Advisory Board from past student fees. The University is paying for the other half with repair and rehabilitation funds, Modig said.
The Campus Safety Advisory Board is paying the other half of the
costs with funds from past student fees, Modig said.
The city has a long list of approved road improvements that lack funding.
The project is a priority for the University and is being paid for by it because it benefits students, Modig
said.
"If we didn't take the initiative to pay for this project, it would go on the bottom of the city's list," he said. "We might have to wait 5-10 years to get it done."