Speeding, Roundabouts and Traffic Calming

Traffic Management

Speeding, Roundabouts and Traffic Calming

Summary

The roundabout (traffic circle) proposed for the corner of North Avenue and Barker Road was innovative and appeared to have technical advantages for moving traffic. It was also wildly unpopular and was eventually stopped. Alderman Berg was an early opponent of the roundabout and hasn't changed his mind.

Updated: May 13, 2002

Update as of May 13, 2002

This project consisted of two pieces. The first piece was the roundabout at the corner of Barker Road and North Avenue. The second piece was a new entrance driveway and turn lanes for Elmbrook Hospital. The two were combined into a single bid to exploit the economy of scale for construction. Elmbrook Hospital has always agreed to fully reimburse the city for the cost of its driveway.

At the Common Council meeting of February 16, 2002, Alderman and mayoral candidate Mike Jakus cast the swing vote to reject the bid to construct the roundabout. This is an unusual procedure generally reserved for when all bids for a project are too expensive. The project was still "on the books", still had the official approval of a majority of the Council and the unanimous approval of the Board of Public Works.

At the Board of Public Works meeting of April 9, 2002, the board accepted the bids for the two projects. One interesting point was that the combined cost for the two now separate projects was lower than the earlier bid for the combined project. Another interesting point is that this was a "lame duck" board meeting held after the election. Only three of the five board members were present (Alderman Schultz, Washechek and Brunner) and they unanimously approved the two bids.

The hospital driveway project was accepted at the first meeting of the new Common Council on April 16, 2002 and construction will done this summer.

The roundabout bid will be considered at the Council meeting of May 21, 2002.

If the Council approves the roundabout bid, it is possible that Mayor Speaker will veto it. This would be extremely unusual.

When the roundabout was first mentioned as a possible solution for the traffic problems at the corner of North and Barker, Alderman Berg supported taking a look at it. Once the research was done and Alderman Berg heard the whole story, he consistently and repeatedly voted against it. Here are his reasons.

The neighbors didn't like it. Once in a while, there is such a compelling public good at stake that elected officials decide to go against popular opinion. For example, buying a fire truck is expensive and may cause taxes to go up which is never popular, but fire trucks are important for the safety of the whole city. Roundabouts are not as important as fire trucks.
Ownership of Barker Road will be transferred to Waukesha County in September, 2002. North Avenue will be transferred in 2004. The expensive improvements will barely be completed before they are given away. Alderman Berg believes Brookfield residents are already giving enough of their tax money away.
There are other reasonable and widely accepted alternatives, including traffic lights and turn lanes. There are even residents who drive through that intersection frequently and state the delays are minimal. Why fix what isn't broke?

By the way, did you see the story in the February 26, 2002 edition of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel? It talked about how the county board is now discussing installing the roundabout when they take over the intersection. So much for the will of the Brookfield residents. That just shows why Alderman Berg also opposed the road transfer.

The chief proponent of the roundabout has been Alderman Karl Schulz. The following is a document that Alderman Schulz sent out to residents to solicit their support for this project. While Alderman Berg does not necessarily agree with all the claims being made in this document, he includes it here for completeness and balance.

Barker Rd. & North Ave. Intersection Improvements

by
Karl Schulz
Alderman, 4th District

(Nine questions and answers concerning roundabouts)

1. Why do we need any improvements?

Current accident rate is 300% higher than the state average for intersections
Intersection had 32 accidents in a three year period, with 10 injuries
Traffic congestion levels with stop signs are unacceptable (Level of Service F)
Traffic projections show more traffic, further deteriorating intersection performance and safety without some improvements

2. Why choose a roundabout vs. traffic signals?

Roundabout	Traffic Signals
Safer – Only 8 vehicle conflict points and 8 pedestrian conflict points	Less safe – Total of 32 vehicle conflict points and 26 pedestrian conflict points
Safer – Lower speeds (ave. 15 mph)	Less safe – Higher speeds (ave. 35 + mph)
Safer – 31% to 73% less injury accidents	Less safe – Significantly higher rate of injury accidents
Efficient during rush hours	Efficient during rush hours
Most efficient during non-peak hours	Less efficient during non-peak hours
No negative effect on gaps in traffic vs. stop signs (existing level of service=C)	Potentially increases gaps on roads for traffic to enter arterial roads
Less costly (little maintenance required – landscaping and lighting)	More costly (more to maintain – cost of electricity for signals, direct traffic during knock downs or power outages and lighting)
Environmentally friendly – landscaped island	Environmentally unfriendly – more asphalt, idling vehicles at red lights
Aesthetically pleasing	Aesthetically unappealing

3. Who says a roundabout will work?

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (May 13, 2000 publication and others)
Traffic engineering experts HNTB (studied this intersection for over two years)
Roundabout experts Kittelson & Associates, Inc. (directed international team of experts in preparing Federal Highway Administration manual on how to design roundabouts)
Waukesha County and Wisconsin DOT has reviewed plans for improvements

4. Are roundabouts an "experiment"? Who else has done this in Wisconsin?

There are thousands of roundabouts throughout the world that work effectively and safely
Over 300 have been constructed in the USA alone in the past 12 years
Statistics from Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show roundabouts are safer, reduce injury accidents and death significantly compared to intersections with traffic signals (roundabouts reduce injury accidents by 31% to 73%)
Village of Howard, WI (Brown County) has three roundabouts
City of Sheboygan has a roundabout
City of Milwaukee currently constructing a roundabout

5. Are roundabouts the same as traffic circles or rotaries?

No, as the following comparison shows:

Roundabouts	Traffic Circles / Rotaries
Roundabouts are smaller	Traffic circles are much bigger
Speeds are slower	Speeds are faster
Lower injury accident rate	Higher injury accident rate
Traffic approaching the roundabout yields to traffic in the roundabout	Traffic in the inner circle yields to traffic entering the traffic circle
Pedestrians not allowed in the center island	Pedestrians allowed in the center island
Parking not allowed in/near a roundabout	Parking allowed in/near a traffic circle

6. What about pedestrians and bicyclists?

Pedestrians do not cross to the center island, they cross at the approaches
Pedestrians need only look one direction to cross to splitter island (mini-median), then look the other direction to finish crossing street
Bicyclists can either walk their bike along pedestrian route or flow with traffic in the roundabout (slow speeds in roundabout allow for bicycles to safely keep up)

7. How will fire and other emergency vehicles get through?

The roundabout is designed large enough to allow for Fire Department ladder trucks and ambulances and other large vehicles (trucks) to get through
Drivers approaching a roundabout should pull over to the right to yield right of way to emergency vehicles similar to any other circumstance
Drivers in the roundabout should pull over to provide a path for the emergency vehicle (that may mean clearing the intersection), similar to other intersections

8. How much will the roundabout cost?

Item	Total cost if City builds roundabout in 2002	Total cost if County builds roundabout in 2003
Engineering (actual spent)	$ 75,000	$ 20,000
Right of Way (actual spent)	$ 20,000	$ 0
Utility relocation (estimated)	$ 55,000	$ 57,000
Construction (actual bid)	$216,000	$223,000*
Total Cost	$366,000	$300,000
Minus DOT grant / plus spent costs	($183,000)	$ 95,000
Net Cost to City of Brookfield	$183,000	$139,000**

*Assumes 3% inflation for delay of intersection improvements. **Includes 14.6% of total cost since Brookfield funds 14.6% of the County budget through general property taxes.

9. What happens if we don’t build the roundabout now?

Waukesha County takes over jurisdiction of Barker Rd. on September 1, 2002
The County would need to program any intersection improvements into their 5 year Capital Improvement Program – competing against other projects for limited funds
Any improvements would be delayed 7 or more years and improvements are needed now

Read how the Waukesha County Board might go ahead and build the roundabout anyway: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/feb02/23458.asp

Read how Council President Mike Jakus listened to the opposing residents and changed his key vote: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/feb02/21787.asp

The roundabout is dead for now: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/feb02/22235.asp

Read what Steve Ponto and Karl Schultz, the alderman for the district now including that corner, said about the roundabout: http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/feb02/20533.asp

Background story on the roundabout: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/feb02/20339.asp

Letter to the editor by a Delafield resident opposing the roundabout: http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/feb02/18822.asp

An early vote on the roundabout, when Alderman Berg was a minority dissenter: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/aug01/brook22082101a.asp