Downtown bump-outs bring touch of color, traffic-calming focus

Pops of color have popped up across downtown Sioux Falls, part of a broader goal of supporting pedestrian safety and slowing down traffic.

“We’ve heard from the downtown community from businesses, property owners, residents alike, that pedestrian safety and walkability in general is very important, and those conversations have been going on for years,” said Joe Batcheller, president of Downtown Sioux Falls Inc.

A grant-funded effort by AARP allowed DTSF to paint 11 bump-outs. There are three on 10th Street, three on 11th Street, one on 12th Street and Second Avenue by the post office, one on Ninth Street and Phillips Avenue, one at Seventh Street and Phillips, and two on Eighth Street.

The volunteer response to paint them “was fantastic, and we had a great crew,” Batcheller said. “It’s a bare-bones approach. We have delineators that create the visual and physical separation between pedestrians and car traffic.”

A time-lapse camera is set up at two locations, “and we’re looking at how fast cars are going before and after the bump-outs and if they prove effective,” Batcheller said.

“I think for drivers on 10th and 11th, the bump-outs will serve as a strong visual cue there’s something different about this corridor and they need to slow down.”

On Seventh and Eighth streets, “the pedestrians are going to be more visible,” he added. “The crossing will be a lot shorter.”

The plan is to leave the bump-outs up for two months, getting rid of them before snowplows need access to the streets.

It’s possible they could return as part of bigger city capital improvement projects. Batcheller points to some used on Eighth Street near 8th & Railroad Center as an example of an effective use.

“It could be a few years before they’re made permanent, but we’ll at least have the data the city can use to make the best decision,” Batcheller said.

The bump-outs are one of multiple transportation-related initiatives downtown. DTSF also recently used a stencil on Phillips Avenue sidewalks between Ninth and 12th streets to remind riders to “walk your wheels.”

“That’s been an issue of people riding bikes on Phillips … and because we have patio seating and servers crossing the sidewalk to get to patrons, there have been instances where servers have been severely injured,” Batcheller said.

“So we’re trying to provide more awareness for people who have scooters or whatever that this is a place to walk.”