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CASPER, Wyo. — Business owners and residents took to the podium at the public comment portion of the Casper City Council’s Tuesday meeting to share frustrations with impacts that new soda shop Styrrups has had on traffic in the surrounding area.
Dan Staight of New Horizon Chiropractic Center and Lori Wormus of Swann Studios both said the new business has created congestion along Second Street and Kenwood Street, impacting employees, shoppers, motorists and residents alike.
“There has always been harmony on Kenwood between businesses and residents. Since the opening of Styrrups, that has forever changed,” Staight said. “The traffic and congestion prevent open and free unrestricted access to existing businesses and residences from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.”
Staight added that while the shop is zoned for commercial use, he believes city officials should consider the impact it has on the nearby residential area on Kenwood Street.
“The business has created customer traffic, parking limitations, air quality and noise issues [affecting] the entire residentially zoned block,” he said.
Wormus said her Second Street business had never previously encountered traffic issues, but in recent weeks it’s been difficult to access Swann Studios without asking a Styrrups patron to move. She added that the potential addition of a center turn lane could only further clog up traffic for vehicles waiting to turn in the opposite direction.
“No one in this room would like it if your business or your residence was blocked 12 hours a day,” she said. “When the residents are parked on the street, they can’t get out because there’s a whole line of cars.”
Kathy Sandoval, a Kenwood Street resident, said the line into Styrrups’ drive-through — which can only be accessed from Kenwood — frequently blocks her driveway, and cars now also regularly use her driveway to do U-turns.
“[On] March 8, there were 10 U-turns in less than an hour in front of my house. It’s no longer safe for my grandchildren to enter in through that driveway,” she said.
Concerns were also raised regarding safety, and what would happen if emergency vehicles needed to drive down the street while the road was heavily congested.
Both Staight and Wormus asked why local businesses were not notified and the new business did not go before the Planning and Zoning Board, and City Manager Janine Jordan responded that notice wasn’t given because a rezoning was not needed for the property, which was already zoned for commercial use.
Vice Mayor Kyle Gamroth said he expects traffic will lessen in the coming weeks after the initial excitement around the new business’s opening wanes, though he added that he wants to examine how drive-throughs are managed in the city’s current zoning regulations and he is open to looking for attainable solutions.
At the council’s work session on March 10, Councilor Pat Sweeney said he’d heard reports of a collision outside the shop over the prior weekend, and Police Chief Shane Chaney responded that the department was called out to a report of an accident on Sunday near the business that was downgraded to a disturbance.
On Wednesday, Oil City News reached out to Styrrups for comment but did not receive a response at time of publication.
CORRECTION, March 18, 2026: Bill DeGraeve, who did not speak to the council about issues with Styrrups Soda, was initially misidentified in the original feature photo. The photo has been replaced.
