Wichita KS "city meet" - April 18, 2026

[Scott5114]

That sunflower-in-a-black-circle shield they're using would look pretty sharp as an actual sign.

I think it's actually dark blue, rather than black.

Check it out here:  https://www.ksdot.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/3463/638942178012600000

KU fan in the map division?

I always thought it'd be fun if they made K-freeway shields have a blue background like the KTA shield. Or, hey, maybe they could have a green one like the old KTA shield.

[kphoger]

I always thought it'd be fun if they made K-freeway shields have a blue background like the KTA shield. Or, hey, maybe they could have a green one like the old KTA shield.

[kphoger]

I always thought it'd be fun if they made K-freeway shields have a blue background like the KTA shield. Or, hey, maybe they could have a green one like the old KTA shield.

[Rothman]

...and I'm in the airport about to board a plane back east.  Packed a lot into this Fri-Th trip and a speeding ticket I got did hang over the rest of the trip...until I found an Atticus Finch in Syracuse, KS of all places.

Anyway, it was great to hang out with everyone and share the concerns about communicating with Winkler, although that went as well as it could (Bite Me BBQ was indeed loud).

And now, I get through a workday tomorrow and then off again on a long daytrip on Saturday...

[J N Winkler]

To what extent should I believe the prevalence of DDIs in the image below?

[Image showing five DDIs, four at consecutive exits, snipped to save vertical scrolling]

https://www.newenglandconstruction.news/PBE/article/D94BE7EC-major-improvements-coming-to-wichita-s-k-96-construction-expected-to-begin-in-2026

KDOT has held a total of two open houses for the K-96 widening--one on February 2, 2023 near Jabara Airport and another on April 11, 2024 at the Hughes Metroplex at WSU.  I attended both, and observed a fair number of changes in the design between the two.  In 2023 KDOT was planning a six-lane cross-section with simple exits (no lane drops) and was considering displaced left turns as alternatives to DDIs at Woodlawn and Rock.  By 2024, when they had a print copy of the environmental assessment available to leaf through (I may have been the only person to do so), they had committed to DDIs as shown in the picture you shared--four in a row (Hillside, Oliver, Woodlawn, and Rock) and a fifth at 21st--and also expanded the proposed cross-section to four lanes in each direction, dropping to three through interchanges, with option lanes at each exit.

I think they will indeed build the DDIs and there will then be a ginormous flap as drivers around here figure out how to negotiate them.

The article is out of date in one respect:  as of the current monthly letting report, the earliest contract to be advertised as part of this project covers the Woodlawn and Rock interchanges and is not scheduled to be let until September 2028.  I suspect that date will slip further.


In regard to the evening gathering last Saturday, some found it challenging to park near the restaurant, partly as a result of Wichita's recent overhaul of downtown parking that includes privatization and removal of coin-operated parking meters in favor of app- and kiosk-based payment methods with surge pricing capability.  (As you might imagine, this has been furiously controversial.)  Parking in the immediate vicinity of the restaurant was also tight due to something going on at Wave, a nearby event venue--the free lot nearby had no vacant spaces and a private lot owner in the next block was charging $20 to park.  The space I eventually found, three blocks north along a curb face that had a weekday two-hour restriction but no kiosks or zone number signs, did turn out to be free.

Anyway, it was great to hang out with everyone and share the concerns about communicating with Winkler, although that went as well as it could (Bite Me BBQ was indeed loud).

Even so, it was good to finally meet you in person!

[kphoger]

I think they will indeed build the DDIs and there will then be a ginormous flap as drivers around here figure out how to negotiate them.

Heck, people around here think a roundabout is the government telling me how to drive, so I'm sure you're right.

Parking in the immediate vicinity of the restaurant was also tight due to something going on at Wave, a nearby event venue

Looks like it was a rap concert.  Plus, of course, the flocks of prom couples having their pictures taken everywhere.

The space I eventually found, three blocks north along a curb face that had a weekday two-hour restriction but no kiosks or zone number signs, did turn out to be free.

As did my spot directly behind the restaurant.  I guess they figured pay parking on a gravel street would just be silly.

[A.J. Bertin]

In regard to the evening gathering last Saturday, some found it challenging to park near the restaurant, partly as a result of Wichita's recent overhaul of downtown parking that includes privatization and removal of coin-operated parking meters in favor of app- and kiosk-based payment methods with surge pricing capability.  (As you might imagine, this has been furiously controversial.)  Parking in the immediate vicinity of the restaurant was also tight due to something going on at Wave, a nearby event venue--the free lot nearby had no vacant spaces and a private lot owner in the next block was charging $20 to park.  The space I eventually found, three blocks north along a curb face that had a weekday two-hour restriction but no kiosks or zone number signs, did turn out to be free.

My apologies to those who had a hard time finding easy (or free) parking near Bite Me BBQ.  When I am planning my city meets and deciding on where to have our meals, parking is always something I inquire about.  When I spoke with Bite Me BBQ back around December/January when I was deciding on the dinner spot, I was told that there was "plenty" of free/easy parking in the area.  Clearly that ended up not being the case.

[kphoger]

When I spoke with Bite Me BBQ back around December/January when I was deciding on the dinner spot, I was told that there was "plenty" of free/easy parking in the area.  Clearly that ended up not being the case.

With no concert a block away, there probably would have been.

[J N Winkler]

My apologies to those who had a hard time finding easy (or free) parking near Bite Me BBQ.  When I am planning my city meets and deciding on where to have our meals, parking is always something I inquire about.  When I spoke with Bite Me BBQ back around December/January when I was deciding on the dinner spot, I was told that there was "plenty" of free/easy parking in the area.  Clearly that ended up not being the case.

I wouldn't feel bad about it; it's just one of those things that come up when travelling, and the city has not helped matters with the way it has implemented paid parking.  As Kyle says, without a concert in the picture, it would have been much easier to find a space--the lot just southeast of 2nd and St. Francis (one block north of Bite Me) has at least 100 slots.