WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The City of Wichita has a new downtown project that’s slowing down traffic and turning a few heads in the process.

The project, a picnic area in one of the lanes of Main Street south of Douglas, may seem like a crazy idea, but there’s a chance it may help add a new dimension to downtown Wichita.

A couple of dozen zip ties, a few feet of chain, some chairs and a lot of color add up to something called a “placemaking” project.

The idea is to transform a public place, such as a traffic lane in downtown Wichita, into a much safer and more pedestrian-friendly area.

Jason Gregory is one of the people behind the design.

“It basically limits the lanes of traffic and it forces the cars to slow down and take notice of the pedestrian way,” said Gregory who is the Executive Vice President of the Wichita Downtown Development Corporation.

Wednesday, city crews re-striped part of Main Street, narrowing the width of the two northbound lanes.

The tighter lanes are meant to force drivers to slow down, making for a safer driving environment.

“If it’s a tighter, uncomfortable situation for us in our car, we are going to have a natural tendency to slow down,” Gregory said.

“It’s all about changing a behavior so it’s going to take people a little bit of time to get used to the traffic lanes and turning lanes being a little bit smaller,” said Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Wichita Community Foundation Courtney Bengston.

Elizabeth Stevenson, a Wichita runner, is pleased with the project.

“I have had to jump on the hood of a car just to stop them from running into us,” said Stevenson. “I am happy the cars are going to have to go around the people for awhile, for a change. This doesn’t happen here.”

The picnic area in Main Street will stay like it is for 60 days, after which people involved with the project will gather data on how many people use it and if drivers really do slow down. If it’s a success, it could become permanent.

“We just want to see what people do with it,” Bengston said.

The project was funded through the Knight Foundation Fund at the Wichita Community Foundation. Four new parking spaces were also put in for the time being.