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Wildwood residents express concern about roundabouts on Hwy. 109
By: Kate Uptergrove
At an open house Sept. 5, residents of Wildwood had an opportunity to learn more about a series of roundabouts planned by MoDOT for Hwy. 109. Some residents such as Gail Young and Mary Lanig, residents of Windsor Crest subdivision, were “definitely opposed” to the plan, but other residents, including John Tucker, of Windsor Crest, thought the improvements were progress.
“I think the roundabout is a good idea,” Tucker said. “Right now it’s very different to get out of the subdivision and head north.”
But Young disagreed.
“I don’t think this will solve the problem (traffic flow on Hwy. 109) and it will make it harder to get into our subdivision,” Young said. “What we need is for the bridge over Hwy. 100 to be made bigger.”
Michelle Voegele, PE, an engineer with MoDOT, said, “There’s no funding available to address the bridge at this time.”
Voegele was one of several MoDOT representatives on hand to answer questions, which were plentiful.
Emily Perkins, a graduate of Lafayette High, wanted to know how the roundabouts would work with Lafayette traffic.
“I feel like with two lanes entering and one going round, it will just add to the confusion. Most people have trouble understanding a single roundabout. How will they handle a double one?” Perkins asked.
She also had concerns about how close the additional lane would come to the existing trail system and whether or not runners, bikers and walkers would be safe from traffic.
Justin Wolf, of MoDOT, said that in order to endanger a trail user, “the car would have to jump a curb.” Wolf also pointed out that a tunnel will be constructed as part of the highway improvement, which will allow trail users, including students, to cross under rather than over Hwy. 109.
A video of traffic moving through a roundabout is available for viewing here.
1 Comments
The FHWA has a video about modern roundabouts that is mostly accurate (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhHzly_6lWM ).
Modern roundabouts are the safest form of intersection in the world. Search http://www.iihs.org for FAQs and safety facts. The safety comes from the ‘slow and go’ operation instead of the ‘stop or go fast’ way a stop light works (or the ‘keep going fast’ large traffic circle fantasy). The smaller size of the modern roundabout is what makes them safer and keeps speeds in the 20 mph range. This makes it much easier to avoid a crash or stop for pedestrians. It also means that if a crash happens the likelihood of injury is very low. Safety is the #1 reason there are over 2,400 modern roundabouts in the US today and many more on the way.
Slow and go also means less delay than a stop light, especially the other 20 hours a day people aren’t driving to or from work. Average daily delay at a signal is around 12 seconds per car. At a modern roundabout average delay is less than five seconds. Signals take an hour of demand and restrict it to a half hour, at best only half the traffic gets to go at any one time. At a modern roundabout four drivers entering from four directions can all enter at the same time. Don’t try that with a signalized intersection.