The Standard Traffic Ordinance for Kansas Cities, 51st Edition (2024) published by the League of Kansas Municipalities, Topeka, Kansas (the “Standard Traffic Ordinance”), is adopted and incorporated by reference except such portions as are hereinafter amended. At least one copy of the Standard Traffic Ordinance shall be marked or stamped “Official Copy as Adopted by Ordinance No. 24-3451” with all sections thereof intended to be amended clearly marked to show any such amendments and to which shall be attached a copy of this section or said ordinance and filed with the City Clerk to be open to inspection and available to the public at all reasonable business hours.
(Ord. 3257; Ord. 3283; Ord. 3304; Ord. 3357; Ord. 3376; Ord. 3404; Ord. 3420; Ord. 3432; Ord. 3451)
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a vehicle in a careless, heedless, or inattentive manner, or without due caution or circumspection, or in any manner not constituting reckless driving, but so as to endanger or be likely to endanger any person or property.
The City Manager is authorized and empowered to make regulations concerning determination of those times during which parking shall be unlawful at any time and for any length of time in accordance with such regulations; and to make regulations designating through highways and streets, not including main trafficways; designating stop intersections; designating yield intersections; designating one-way streets; designating no-parking zones; designating limited-parking zones, both as to time and as to type of vehicles; designating angle-parking zones; designating loading zones; designating taxi stand zones; designating crosswalks and safety zones; designating play streets and alleys; designating zones of quiet; designating zones restricting overtaking and passing; designating traffic lanes; designating maximum speed zones; designating intersections at which no right turn, left turn or U-turn may be made at any time or only at certain times; and any other regulations designating areas or zones of restricted limited stopping, standing, parking, turning, passing, speed or operation of vehicles, when the City Manager shall find and determine that such regulation is necessary for safety purposes or to expedite traffic. Upon making such regulation or regulations, the City Manager shall cause traffic-control devices to be properly posted or installed, advising the public of such regulation.
The City Manager may also adopt an administrative fine schedule for parking violations included in this section and not prosecuted through the Municipal Court.
(Ord. 2579)
The City Manager shall place and maintain traffic-control devices, including traffic-control signals, when and as required under this article and future traffic ordinances of this city to make effective the provisions of this article and future ordinances, and may place and maintain such additional traffic-control devices as the City Manager may deem necessary to regulate traffic under the traffic ordinances of this city or under state law, or to guide or warn traffic. All traffic-control devices so erected shall be official traffic-control devices.
The following streets are hereby established as emergency snow routes within the city:
(a) Northwest Third Street from North Buckeye Avenue to Van Buren Street
(b) Northeast Tenth Street from North Buckeye Avenue to North Brown Street
(c) Buckeye Avenue from the North city limits to the South city limits
(d) East First Street from Buckeye Avenue to East city limits
(e) North Brady Street from East First Street to Northeast Twenty-first Street
(f) North Fourteenth Street from the East City limits to Vine Street
(g) Washington Street from Northwest Third Street to Municipal Airport
(h) Northeast Twenty-first Street from North Brady Street to North Buckeye Avenue·
(i) North Cedar Street from Northwest Third Street to Northwest Fourteenth Street
(j) Northwest Tenth Street from North Buckeye Avenue to North Cedar Street
(k) 900 and 1000 Block of North Brown Street
(l) Northeast 7th Street from Brady to Buckeye
(m) Northwest Seventh Street from North Buckeye Avenue to Northwest Eighth Street, and continuing on Northwest Eighth Street to the Abilene Water Treatment Plant.
The City Manager shall cause appropriate signs to be installed and maintained on each of said street designated emergency snow route.
(Ord. 3108; Code 2015; Ord. 21-3407)
Whenever snow has accumulated or there is a possibility of snow that will accumulate to such a depth that snow removal operations will be required, the City Manager, or designee, may declare a traffic emergency. Until such traffic emergency is terminated it shall be unlawful to park a vehicle on any street declared an emergency snow route.
(Ord. 2930)
Upon declaring a traffic emergency, the City Manager shall immediately provide appropriate notice thereof to the local news media. The traffic emergency shall be terminated by notice given in the same manner as the traffic emergency declaration.
(Ord. 2930)
All vehicles parked on emergency snow routes must be removed within two (2) hours after declaration of a snow emergency. Any vehicle parked, disabled or stalled on an emergency snow route after such time may be removed or caused to be removed by a law enforcement officer to the nearest storage area or other place of safety, and shall not be recovered until the towing and storage charges are paid in full.
(Ord. 2930)
During a declared snow emergency, all vehicles shall be removed from the following streets within the central business district between the hours of 7:00 P.M. and 7:00 A.M:
(a) North Spruce Street, North Broadway Street and North Cedar Street from Northwest Second Street to Northwest Fifth Street
(b) Kirby Street, from Northeast Third Street to Northeast Fourth Street
(c) Northwest Second Street, from Buckeye Avenue to Cedar Street
(d) North Third Street and North Fourth Street, from Kirby Street to Cedar Street.
(e) Northwest Fifth Street, from Buckeye Avenue to Cedar Street
Any vehicle parked in violation of this section may be removed or caused to be removed by a law enforcement officer to the nearest storage area or other place of safety, and shall not be recovered until towing and storage charges are paid in full.
(Ord. 2930)
No person shall operate a truck-trailer or semitrailer with a registered gross vehicle weight in excess of 30,000 pounds on any public street within the corporate limits of the City of Abilene, except on the following designated truck routes:
(a) First Street from East City limits to Elm Street;
(b) Buckeye Avenue from North to South City limits;
(c) Fourteenth Street from the East City limits to Fair Road, to include only those portions inside City limits;
(d) North Washington Street from Eighth Street to Fourteenth Street, to include only those portions inside the City limits;
(e) North Van Buren Street and South Van Buren Street;
(f) Northwest Eighth Street from Vine Street to West City limits;
(g) Northwest Seventh Street;
(h) Northeast Twenty-First Street;
(i) North Brady Street from First Street to Twenty-First Street.
(Ord. 2947; Ord 3397)
The provisions of Section 5-410 shall not apply to:
(a) Emergency vehicles, including ambulances and fire trucks;
(b) Street, sewer, water gas, electric and other utility, repair and maintenance vehicles;
(c) Vehicles used for the purpose of trash and refuse collecting;
(d) Vehicles en route to parking on privately-owned property;
(e) It shall not be a violation of this section for a person to operate a truck-trailer or semitrailer upon such streets as are required to reach a destination located off a truck route if such is necessary to accomplish the business of, or purpose related to the truck-trailer or semitrailer. Trucks deviating from the truck routes for such business or purpose shall use the most direct route between the nearest truck route and the destination.
(Ord. 2947; Ord 3397)
No person shall park any truck, trailer or semitrailer as described in Section 5-410 above on any public street in the City of Abilene, Kansas, other than those designated in Section 5-410 above, for a period of more than two (2) hours. This section does not preclude parking of said vehicles on privately-owned property.
(Ord. 2947)
It shall be unlawful for any person to park or permit to stand, after sunset and before sunrise, upon any public street, alley or public place within the city any vehicle used for the transportation of flammable, explosive, toxic or other material inherently dangerous to persons or property because of the physical and chemical properties of such materials. These provisions shall not apply to any vehicle herein described while the same is engaged in the loading or unloading of such materials.
(Ord. 2947)
It shall be unlawful for any person to park any semitrailer used for the transport of livestock or other animals, and which contains any residue of animal waste or odor, for more than two (2) hours on any public street or private property within the City of Abilene, except for vehicles engaged in publicly-sanctioned activities involving livestock shows and auctions within the confines of Eisenhower Park.
(Ord. 2951)
(a) As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section, except when the context requires otherwise.
(1) “Micro utility truck” means any motor vehicle as defined in the most current Standard Traffic Ordinance adopted by the city. “Micro utility truck” does not include a work-site vehicle.
(2) “Work-site utility vehicle” means any motor vehicle as defined in the most current Standard Traffic Ordinance. “Work-site utility vehicle” does not include a micro utility truck.
(3) “Special purpose vehicle” means micro utility truck and work-site utility vehicle, either individually or collectively.
(b) OPERATION OF SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLES ON CITY STREETS; SPECIAL CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS ON OPERATION.
(1) Micro utility trucks may be operated upon the public highways, streets, roads and alleys within the corporate limits of the city.
(A) No micro utility truck shall be operated on any public highway, street, road or alley, unless such truck complies with the equipment requirements under Article 17 of Chapter 8 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto.
(B) No micro utility truck shall be operated on any interstate highway, federal highway or state highway; provided, however, that the provisions of this subsection shall not prohibit a micro utility truck from crossing a federal or state highway.
(2) Work-site utility vehicles may be operated upon the public highways, streets, roads and alleys within the corporate limits of the city.
(A) No work-site utility vehicle shall be operated on any public highway, street or road between sunset and sunrise unless equipped with lights as required by law for motorcycles.
(B) No work-site utility vehicle shall be operated on any interstate highway, federal highway or state highway; provided, however, that the provisions of this subsection shall not prohibit a work-site utility vehicle from crossing a federal or state highway.
(c) SAME; VALID DRIVER’S LICENSE REQUIRED; PENALTY; DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
(1) No person shall operate a special purpose vehicle on any public highway, street, road or alley within the corporate limits of the city unless such person has a valid unrestricted by age driver=s license. Violation of this section is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than six months or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(2) Every person operating a special purpose vehicle on the public highways, streets, roads and alleys of the city shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to a driver of a vehicle imposed by law.
(d) SAME; INSURANCE REQUIRED; PENALTY.
(1) Every owner of a special purpose vehicle shall provide liability coverage in accordance with Section 200 of the Standard Traffic Ordinance, and amendments thereto, and the Kansas Automobile Injury Reparations Act, K.S.A. 40-3101, et seq., and amendments thereto.
(2) All provisions of Section 200 of the Standard Traffic Ordinance, and amendments thereto, including penalty provisions, shall be applicable to all owners and operators of special purpose vehicles.
(e) SAME; REGISTRATION AND LICENSE; FEE;
APPLICATION; INSPECTION; PENALTY. Before operating any special purpose utility
vehicle on any public highway, street, road or alley within the corporate
limits of the city, the vehicle shall
be registered with the police department and display a valid registration decal
affixed and displayed in such a manner as to be clearly visible from the rear
of the vehicle. The application shall be made upon forms provided by the city
and each application shall contain the name of the owner, the owner’s residence
address, or bona fide place of business, a brief description of the vehicle to
be registered (including make, model and serial number, if applicable). Proof
of insurance shall be furnished at the time of application for registration. A
one time registration fee for a special purpose vehicle shall be as
prescribed in section 1-310. The
license issued hereunder is not transferrable.
(f) PENALTY. Unless specifically provided for herein, a violation of this section shall be deemed an ordinance traffic infraction. Upon an entry of a plea of guilty or no contest or upon being convicted of such violation, the penalty imposed shall be in accordance with Section 201 of the Standard Traffic Ordinance, and amendments thereto, or such other similar provision as the city may then have in effect.
(Ord. 3141; Ord. 3146; Ord. 3425)