Prairie Village will take steps to cut down on average vehicle speeds along a key stretch of Tomahawk Road.
The city plans to narrow lanes along Tomahawk between Roe Avenue and 71st Street by 5 feet on either side of the street, taking the lanes going both ways from 15 feet wide down to 10 feet wide.
The city also plans to install speed signs that show drivers how fast they are actually going, another attempt at controlling vehicle speeds on the busy street.
Last week, the Prairie Village City Council, in an 11-0 vote, cleared the way for both of these changes to Tomahawk Road. Councilmember Lori Sharp was absent.
This decision comes months after the city council, following a debate, lowered the speed limit on Tomahawk Road between Roe Avenue and Mission Road — which includes 71st Street — from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour.
Tomahawk between 71st and Roe runs by a corner of The Shops of Prairie Village complex and also passes by Porter Park and runs through a residential neighborhood.
A look at the project
Kimley-Horn, an engineering and design firm, conducted a traffic calming study of that stretch of Tomahawk Road.
The study determined that Tomahawk between 71st and Roe qualifies for traffic calming measures, based on the city’s criteria.
The study found that in November 2024, when the posted speed limit was still 30 miles per hour, the 85th percentile speed along that stretch of Tomahawk varied between roughly 34.8 and 37.3 miles per hour.
Tomahawk also saw an average daily traffic volume of upwards of 3,000 vehicles.
The 85th percentile speeds that topped the posted speed limit, the traffic volume and the roadway’s proximity to residential areas earned it enough points on Kimley-Horn’s scale to qualify for traffic calming measures, which the consultant recommended.
Since Tomahawk Road is an emergency route, however, speed humps and bumps are prohibited for this stretch of roadway, so other measures would have to be explored.
The traffic calming measures being proposed, including narrowing the lanes and putting up speed signs, have the support of nearby residents, according to city documents.
Speed limit reduction is already in effect
Public Works Director Keith Bredehoeft told the Post via email on Thursday that the speed limit reduction along Tomahawk Road “was not part of the traffic calming project.”
The city council first took up that issue in October 2024, with Ward 2 Councilmembers Inga Selders and Ron Nelson spearheading the call for reducing the speed limit on that stretch of Tomahawk.
Selders argued that the speed limit needed to be reduced to 25 miles per hour between Roe and Mission to be consistent with the rest of Tomahawk Road.
After a traffic study found Tomahawk Road in Prairie Village operates safely at the posted 30 miles per hour speed limit, the city council in February still approved the speed limit reduction.
Next steps:
- Bredehoeft said he anticipates the speed limit signs to arrive some time in the next month.
- Depending on the weather, Bredehoeft said the pavement markings can be changed around the same time that the signs arrive.
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