Concerns over traffic safety once again took center stage Tuesday as the Bossier City Council voted 6-1 to deny a request to rezone property along Benton Road for a proposed chiropractic clinic.
The request, submitted by Dr. Steven Wunnenberg, sought to rezone a residential property at 2290 Benton Road for professional office use. The proposal would have allowed the property to be converted into a chiropractic clinic.
The rezoning request had already been reviewed by the Metropolitan Planning Commission before advancing to the City Council, where residents again voiced concerns about the safety of the busy Benton Road and Douglas Drive intersection.
Several homeowners from the Old Green Acres subdivision urged council members to reject the proposal, saying the intersection has become increasingly dangerous because of heavy traffic and frequent crashes.
“It has only gotten more dangerous with heavy traffic and accidents,” said Kathleen McNair, a Benton Road resident. “In June, there were two accidents in a span of five hours at that corner involving airbags and ambulances carrying injured away. We have had at least a dozen vehicles into our yard. One flipped on its side and almost caught our trees on fire.”
Residents argued that adding a commercial business would increase traffic at an intersection they believe is already unsafe.
According to information presented from the Bossier Police Department, crashes at the intersection of Benton Road and Douglas Drive have increased significantly over the past several years. Police data shows there were no reported crashes at the intersection in 2022. That number climbed to 11 crashes during the first six months of 2026, representing a dramatic increase in collisions.
Although Wunnenberg has said his chiropractic practice would be a low-volume office with only a few patients each hour and that he worked with city officials on parking and site access plans, those assurances were not enough to overcome residents’ concerns. During earlier planning discussions, the proposal included modifications to parking and coordination with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development regarding driveway access.
Following public comment and council discussion, council members voted 6-1 to deny the rezoning request, effectively preventing the proposed chiropractic clinic from moving forward at the Benton Road location.
Council members cited public safety and traffic concerns as the primary reasons for rejecting the proposal, with neighborhood residents expressing relief that the intersection’s safety was prioritized.