Mt Vernon Road Diet + Bike Lanes [Oliver to Woodlawn]

JUNE 2020

The Mt. Vernon Bike Lane project between Oliver and Woodlawn was recently completed and serves as a model for what a road diet should look like. The reconfiguration, mostly paint, creates dedicated space for bike lanes, while calming traffic, and decreasing motor-vehicle crashes.

Before improvements were installed, this section of road between Oliver and Woodlawn was a typical, over-built 4-traffic-lane street that encouraged speeding and created a barrier for residents wanting to access Cessna Park or Allen Elementary. Following the road diet, this 1-mile stretch of Mt Vernon now utilizes 3-traffic-lanes, including a middle lane for turning left and dedicated space for bike lanes on each side. Traditional 4-lane roads were originally assumed to provide better traffic flow, but over the past decade, city planners have come to realize that road diets can improve traffic flow, provide dedicated bike lanes, and decrease motor vehicle crashes. For more information on this, see the Federal Highway Administrations Road Diets.

Local cyclist Jack Murphy spoke with a resident who lives on Mt. Vernon, and she was delighted to see the progress and she especially liked the new curb cuts with “dots” to help her low-vision neighbors navigate better. She was excited to see bicyclists riding down the lanes, even before the street markings were completed.

This is an important traffic road section for Wichita’s transportation system and also a part of Wichita’s Master Bike Plan. Additional street road reconfiguration heading west is under construction and will eventually connect residents to downtown + the Ark River. 

Beginning: In 2014, the City of Wichita began asking residents to vote on projects that would be included and prioritized in the Master Bike Plan that was being developed. Mt Vernon, although lower on the list, was prioritized as an important connector in our local bike network.