Centennial Smoky Hill Road Safety Update: Proposed Budget Signals Movement Toward Change

After months of advocacy surrounding traffic and pedestrian safety on Smoky Hill Road, Centennial’s proposed 2027–2028 budget includes funding for street lighting and additional safety study. For residents who have been asking when concern would turn into action, the proposal represents an important development, but there are still questions to answer.

There is finally a significant update in the ongoing conversation about safety on Smoky Hill Road.

Beverly Bennett, the resident advocate behind the Change.org petition calling for improvements along the corridor, recently contacted Centennial Pulse with information contained in Centennial’s proposed 2027–2028 budget. Bennett highlighted two proposed investments related to Smoky Hill Road: $1.75 million for street lighting and $125,000 to study additional improvements.

For Bennett, who has spent months pushing for action after four people lost their lives near Smoky Hill Road at Waco Street and Telluride Street between 2024 and 2026, the proposed funding is meaningful. “Centennial is at last acknowledging the problem and that there needs to be change,” she told Centennial Pulse.

The City Manager presented the proposed 2027–2028 budget to Centennial City Council on September 15. The proposal is now moving through the City's budget-review process, with public budget workshops scheduled for October 12 and 13. Because this is still a proposed budget, the allocations are not final until City Council completes its review and adopts a budget. (Centennial)

From Community Concern to a Budget Proposal

The importance of this development is not simply the dollar amount. It is that the Smoky Hill Road conversation is beginning to show up in a place where priorities can become projects.

For months, residents have used virtually every traditional avenue available to them. They have spoken before City Council, shared concerns with neighbors, attracted local news coverage and supported Bennett's petition, which has approached 900 signatures. Centennial Pulse has also followed the issue through our earlier articles examining Centennial's Vision Zero commitment and asking what would be required to turn public concern into visible progress.

Smoky Hill Road itself is not new to City planning. Centennial completed a dedicated Smoky Hill Road Transportation Corridor Study in April 2022, covering the roadway from Buckley Road to E-470. (Centennial)

The recent fatalities, however, occurred after that study was completed, which helps explain why residents have continued to ask whether current conditions warrant additional attention and new analysis.

The proposed funding does not answer every question surrounding the corridor, but it changes the conversation. Instead of asking only whether Centennial recognizes that additional safety work may be needed, residents can now begin asking what these specific investments will accomplish.

What Could $1.75 Million in Street Lighting Mean?

The proposed $1.75 million for street lighting is the most substantial of the two allocations highlighted by Bennett. Better illumination can improve visibility for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists, particularly at intersections and crossing points, but the details of the proposed project will matter.

Residents will understandably want to know where the new or improved lighting would be installed, how much of Smoky Hill Road would be covered, whether the Waco-to-Telluride area is specifically included and when work could begin if the funding is ultimately approved.

There is also an operational wrinkle worth understanding. Centennial currently states that the City itself maintains streetlights west of Parker Road, while streetlights on the east side of Centennial are handled through CORE Electric Cooperative. (Centennial)

That makes the implementation details of a Smoky Hill lighting project particularly important, including what role the City and its utility partners would each play.

The key point is that this proposed allocation appears to move the discussion beyond broad safety goals and toward a physical infrastructure investment. Residents now have something specific they can follow through the budget process.

Why Another $125,000 Study Could Matter

The proposed $125,000 for studying additional improvements may prompt an understandable reaction from residents who know Smoky Hill Road was already studied in 2022: Why another study?

The answer will depend largely on what the new work is designed to examine. The crash history has changed considerably since the earlier corridor study was completed. An updated analysis could incorporate the fatalities and other recent crashes, examine current traffic patterns and evaluate whether changes should be considered at Waco, Telluride or elsewhere along the corridor.

That study could look at possibilities such as pedestrian crossings, intersection design, lighting, turning movements, speed management, signalization or other engineering measures. It would be premature to assume which solution is appropriate before the work is completed, but residents can reasonably expect transparency about what will be evaluated and how recommendations will be used.

The most important question may ultimately be what happens after the study. Residents have made clear that they are looking for a path from analysis to implementation, not simply another report documenting a problem they already know exists.

The Budget Is Proposed, Not Final

This update deserves some optimism, but also an important dose of precision. The 2027–2028 budget has not yet been adopted.

Centennial's budget process gives City Council an opportunity to review the City Manager's recommendations before final adoption. The City has scheduled budget workshops for October 12 and 13, where staff will present details to Council and the public. Centennial also notes that its budget process includes a public hearing before adoption. (Centennial)

That makes the next several weeks an especially useful time for residents who have followed the Smoky Hill issue to remain involved. The conversation no longer has to center only on asking whether something will be done. Residents can now ask whether these proposed amounts will remain in the final budget, what projects they will fund, when implementation could occur and how the City will measure whether the resulting changes improve safety.

Those are more concrete questions, and concrete questions tend to produce more useful public accountability.

The Petition Still Has a Role

Bennett's Change.org petition remains an important part of the story because it documents sustained community concern and gives residents another way to learn about the issue. The petition calls attention to the four deaths along this portion of Smoky Hill Road and advocates for additional measures intended to prevent further fatalities.

Residents interested in the effort can read and sign Beverly Bennett's Smoky Hill Road safety petition on Change.org.

A petition does not determine engineering decisions or appropriate City funds. What it can do is demonstrate that concern is shared by a substantial number of people and give residents a visible way to remain engaged while formal government processes continue.

A Meaningful Shift in the Smoky Hill Conversation
Our first article on this issue asked whether Centennial's Vision Zero commitment was translating into enough visible action. Our second followed Bennett's question about what, after fatalities, public testimony, news coverage and hundreds of petition signatures, would finally move the issue forward.

This latest development offers the first substantial budget-related answer.

It would be premature to call the problem solved. The funding is still proposed, residents do not yet have all of the project details, and an additional study does not guarantee any particular roadway change. But it is equally important not to overlook what has changed: Smoky Hill Road safety now has specific proposed dollars attached to it.

For Bennett and the residents who have continued raising the issue, that is movement worth recognizing. The next measure of progress will be whether the proposed funding survives the budget process and, if it does, how quickly residents begin seeing the difference on Smoky Hill Road.

The story now shifts from “Will Centennial act?” to something more practical: What will Centennial build, study and change with the resources it is proposing to invest?

That is a question Centennial Pulse will continue to follow.

Learn More and Stay Involved

Review Centennial’s proposed 2027–2028 budget:
Read the full proposed budget

Learn about Centennial’s budget process:
City of Centennial Budget Information

Review the Smoky Hill Road Transportation Corridor Study:
Smoky Hill Road Corridor Study

Learn about Centennial streetlights and reporting concerns:
Centennial Streetlights

Read and sign Beverly Bennett’s petition:
Prevent More Deaths at Centennial’s Intersections with Smoky Hill Road

Follow City Council meetings and opportunities for public comment:
Centennial City Council Meetings, Agendas and Minutes