URL: http://www.abqjournal.com/west/161228215696west07-16-09.htm
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Roundabout Hits Another Snag
By Lloyd Jojola
Copyright © 2009 Albuquerque Journal
Discussions about building a roundabout in the North Valley have hit a bump in the road.
The proposed roundabout traffic intersection at Roy Road (N.M. 556) and N.M. 313 was to be the subject a neighborhood meeting between area residents and state Department of Transportation representatives today.
DOT staff was “prepared and planned on” attending the meeting until agency officials read the event announcement sent out by the Alameda North Valley Association, DOT District Three District Engineer Larry Velasquez wrote in an e-mail to Steve Wentworth, president of the association. “My interpretation of the tone and demeanor of your announcement is that it is a setup for a confrontational meeting, which will ultimately be unproductive,” he wrote.
That being the case, the DOT decided against attending today's meeting and proposed another date when Bernalillo County Commissioner Michael Wiener could attend. That meeting could take place toward the end of July or in early August. “Some of the things that are in that e-mail (that the association distributed to announce the meeting) are issues that have already been discussed, asked and answered, and they infer that we didn't do the best job that we could have to go forward with this project, when in fact we beg to differ with that,” DOT spokesman Phil Gallegos said.
The DOT said the roundabout design has been chosen and it is moving forward. “What we need to explain to them is why that design was chosen,” Gallegos said. “I think there's a few people — I'm not sure how many, whether it's one, five, a dozen or 100 — that don't seem to think that was done, that the appropriate design was made.”
Some residents remain concerned or skeptical about the proposed circular roadway being planned by the DOT. That resulted in Wiener asking the Alameda North Valley Association to host a meeting so that all area residents could further discuss the plan and ask questions of DOT representatives. “DOT, by declining to attend for reasons that I don't think are valid at all, it really inconvenienced a whole lot of people,” Wentworth said. “It was our intent to have a meeting that was not confrontational, that probably was controversial, most meetings are to a point, but we wanted to share information and we wanted to have concerns vented.”
In late April, the DOT held a public meeting to detail and discuss the estimated $3.8 million roundabout project as well as a $4.6 million project to rehabilitate the nearby N.M. 556 bridge over the North Diversion Channel. But the association said the event was not well advertised and attendance was poor.
The meeting presentation was inadequate — “not well described,” with graphics that were hard to read, among other things, Wentworth said. “They didn't talk about the alternatives” to a roundabout, he said. “They skimmed over the alternatives in a very simplistic manner, and a lot more questions were brought up.”
“A lot of folks have told us that a roundabout is a wonderful idea that will be really great,” Wentworth said. “Other folks have said that a roundabout idea is disastrous and it will probably be dangerous and the dumbest thing they've ever heard of. So we have pros and cons on both sides.”
Among the concerns raised by area residents was protecting pedestrians and bicyclists at the intersection.
Many cyclists already ride through the area, and more pedestrians are expected to travel through once a Rail Runner Express train station is built nearby on Sandia Pueblo land, Wentworth said. Area residents also want the DOT to look at improving the corridor in a “comprehensive manner,” which includes factoring in Second and Fourth streets in the area and the Roy Road bridges farther east. “If they're going to do the intersection and that's all they have the money for, well, that's fine,” Wentworth said. “But they need to make the intersection as safe as possible and they need to consider all the different folks that use it.”
Slowing traffic
The roundabout — essentially a one-way circular intersection without traffic signals — would be two lanes. Speed in the roundabout would be limited to 25 mph, the DOT has said.
“There are a lot of benefits to a roundabout,” Gallegos said. “It's a traffic-calming method of dealing with high-intensity intersections, and what it does is it slows down traffic. The speed limit goes way down for a roundabout.”
Velasquez, in his Friday e-mail to the association, responded to concerns touched on by the group. Among them, he said the agency followed federal procedures in publicizing the April meeting, including the use of newspaper display ads and fliers given to area businesses and jurisdictions.
Citing a letter sent by the Alameda North Valley Association to the DOT, Velasquez also stated the agency supports the suggestions of items that should be included in the roundabout design.
“District Three is also committed to preparing a safety study at the intersection of Fourth/Second streets to quantify and document any safety and operational problems,” Velasquez wrote in his e-mail. “If the analysis concludes that there are deficiencies, District Three will pursue federal safety funds to implement improvements.”
Velasquez said about 30 comments in the form of letters, meeting comment sheets and e-mails were received about the project before and after the April meeting. Based on comments, Velasquez wrote:
“The NMDOT has committed to keeping the roadways open during construction.”
“The intent of the intersection project is to improve the intersection. When funding becomes available, improvements to the bridges on Roy Road will also be developed.”
“Support of the roundabout was also received from members of the bicycling community, who felt that because of the roundabouts' ability to slow traffic, it would be much safer than a traditional signalized intersection.” “The need for consistent shoulders on N.M. 313 just north of the roundabout was also mentioned, and this area will be included in the project.”
