pages: TransportationCommission/2021-01-27.pdf, 5
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TransportationCommission | 2021-01-27 | 5 | Jennifer Rakowski asked: (1) how roundabouts impact emergency response vehicles and response times, and (2) if there is any data on the number of police stops at roundabouts versus a traffic signal. For (1), Ms. Ferguson replied that the roundabout design always accounts for emergency vehicles to be able to maneuver through the intersection. The slowing through a roundabout would be similar to the slowing emergency vehicles do as they pass through a signalized intersection to check for cross traffic. Staff Amiri added that typically the Fire Department is one of the loudest voices in the design of roundabouts. For (2), Ms. Ferguson stated there is only anecdotal information, and no research, regarding police stops. In Bend, the City found they could shift their enforcement focus to other parts of the city, since roundabouts have a natural traffic calming benefit. So, there was less enforcement needed at roundabouts than at signalized intersections. Anthony Lewis thanked the City for the presentation and appreciated Staff Payne for following through on the tactile maps. There are 20 blind people who want to be able to understand how roundabouts work. It would be helpful if blind people and people with disabilities could do a "walk through" of a typical roundabout to understand it further, and asks that staff set this up. Also, they wondered how people in a wheelchair, who are lower to the ground, would be visible if there is landscaping at the roundabout. Staff Payne stated that she likes the idea of doing a field visit to Lafayette, which has a modern roundabout, and will try to set up a field trip, post-COVID. Geoffrey Burnaford, who lives on Central Avenue at McKay Street, asked if there is a roundabout proposed at Encinal High School. They can imagine traffic gridlock as students walk across the street, which would happen at any high pedestrian intersection. Recently, they saw some very heavy large vehicles on Central Avenue, and he hopes the concrete of a roundabout can accommodate this weight at the Sherman Street/Encinal Avenue proposed roundabout. Staff Payne stated that City staff is proposing, and the Transportation Commission approved, roundabouts along Central Ave at these two intersections. Central Avenue is a truck route so the roundabouts are being designed to accommodate large trucks with the biggest being 100 feet long and 15 feet. Today, the high school students take over the intersection, and this condition still would be expected for ten minutes before school starts. The consultant did some research and found that roundabouts work quite well in front of schools. Ms. Ferguson stated that at schools, with their peak periods of student crossings, there will be delays, but the benefit is that as soon as that peak is past, traffic can flow steadily through the intersection. At a signalized or stop sign controlled intersection, it would take much longer for the traffic to clear, through several signal cycles or many cars stopping. Jim Strehlow commented that there were no diagrams in the presentation that show the closure of Sherman Street for the Central Avenue project. He also asked if the cost of installing and then removing roundabouts, after complaints are made, has been considered. Pleasanton is now removing some roundabouts due to Transportation Commission Meeting Minutes - January 27, 2021 5 | TransportationCommission/2021-01-27.pdf |