Drivers may have noticed two new traffic signs by the football memorial that Wichita State police say are causing trouble for drivers and posing a risk to pedestrians. 

WSUPD recently issued a safety and caution alert about the new stop signs on the west side of campus, off of Hillside Street at Memorial Drive and Perimeter Road. 

The signs have been in place since July, but WSUPD Chief Rodney Clark said the new stop signs might not be registering with drivers — especially students who are just returning to campus for the fall semester. 

“People were so used to driving the other way where the stop signs were reversed that they were just going right through the stop signs like they weren’t even there,” Clark said.

Though there have been no reports of anyone getting hit at the intersection, the number of cars that WSUPD is pulling over there every day is higher than usual. Last week the department was averaging 10 stops at the intersection per day.

When cars run the stop sign, Clark said, it poses a threat to pedestrians and other vehicles on the road. 

The cost of running a stop sign on campus is a $75 ticket. 

“The start of any fall semester on a university campus is going to be a heightened time of incidents and accidents,” Clark said. “You’ve got new people coming to the campus, and they’re not familiar with where they’re driving, so it’s nothing unusual.”

WSU is aware that drivers are running the new stop signs and is working to improve their visibility. 

“What the university did was order some flashing red lights to put underneath the stop sign,” Clark said. “So hopefully people will see it a little better.”

University police don’t decide when or where to put up traffic signs. In the City of Wichita, those decisions are made by the Public Works Department. 

New, on-campus signage usually results from traffic study recommendations and facility services puts them up, Clark said.