The Vote was 5 to 4

Recently we told you about the proposed roundabouts on Harkrider at Winfield and Siebenmorgen Roads, now we found out how the voting laid out. Voting for were aldermen Andy Hawkins, David Grimes, Adam Weeks, and Jack Bell; voting against were aldermen Sandy Brewer, Mary Smith, Theodore Jones, and Shelia Whitmore. In what was said to be a very heated discussion Mayor Tab Townsell cast the deciding vote to approve this request.

As we understand it this project is still in the planning stages but has already received the go ahead from the Highway Department. In researching roundabouts in the United States we have found that some work very well while others have failed miserably, it all hinges on the design and application of them.

Roundabouts USA, a company for the creation of roundabouts, list the appropriate conditions for roundabout installation as well as the special design conditions that require special consideration, they write,

Appropriate conditions for roundabout installation:

· Locations with high delays
· Locations where traffic signals are not warranted
· Four-way stop intersections
· Intersections with more than four legs
· Intersections with high left-turn flows
· Intersections with unusual geometry
· Intersections with changing traffic patterns
· Locations where storage capacities for signalized intersections are restricted
· Intersections that are important from an urban design or visual point of view

The following conditions require special design attention and hiring an experienced designer:

· Locations where there is insufficient space for an acceptable outside diameter.
· Locations where it would be difficult to provide flat (2% or less) entries into the roundabout.
· Maximum grade greater than 4% around the circle,
· A high number of pedestrians, a high percentage of large trucks, intersection junction at the top or bottom of a grade, and the close proximity of adjacent signals..

In the roundabouts proposed by Hendrix College we see only one appropriate condition, aesthetic. The whole rationale for this project is to beautify the campus and to make it more pedestrian friendly. The latter is not what roundabouts are designed for and is one of the pitfalls that require special attention to design.

We have found a roundabout design that will closely resemble the finished project; at least it should considering how it has been described. Clearwater Beach Florida has had a roundabout for quite some time now and according to the local press it has been hailed as a two-lane circle that is more of a demolition derby than traffic control noting that they have nearly one accident a day. In a St Petersburg Times report last year it was noted that after 5 years it’s finally starting to grow on people.Take a look at these pictures and try to imagine driving down Harkrider with two of these in your path. That is if you even make it there after having to wait in line as traffic piles up at the yield signs and/or accidents that will occur.

We have to say that this is an issue that needs to be rethought especially since it is not needed for traffic management.