Plans to place a traffic roundabout on Market Street, and make sidewalk improvements — including bike lanes — on Boone Street are proceeding after the Aberdeen City Council voted Wednesday to approve filing the necessary state paperwork and grant applications for both projects Wednesday.
The planned roundabout would be located near the Gateway Center and cover the five legged intersection of Market Street, F Street and Fuller Way. A grant of $166,250 for the roundabout, to perform preliminary engineering work, is already in hand. The terms of the grant require a match from the city of $22,444.
“That intersection has always been one of our higher accident producers; it’s tough on pedestrians and bicyclists, and even after we went to the middle left hand turn lanes there’s still confusion as to who has the right of way,” said Aberdeen Public Works Director Rick Sangder. “The biggest thing is it’s a three-cycle light. If you get caught at it the light has to go through two cycles before you get a turn. It ends up being a lot of wait time — wasted time, for drivers.”
Safety is a big factor in favoring a roundabout above other options, said Sangder.
“In looking at criteria for roundabouts there are basically five thing you look at: high crash locations, large delays, complex geometry, frequent left turns — like we have off Market onto F — and balanced traffic flows. That intersection hits every criteria,” he said. “At a normal intersection you’re looking at right angles, where accidents will be head-ons or rear-ends, where a roundabout produces more glancing type accidents. They have done a number of studies and what it comes down to is a 30 percent reduction in collisions, 70 percent reduction in injury accidents, and 90 percent decrease in fatalities in a roundabout.”
The council approved the recommendation, which allows Mayor Erik Larson to sign all the paperwork accepting the grant and authorize bids on the primary engineering of the roundabout. There are a few mock-ups of what the roundabout could look like, but Sangder says there won’t be a design that truly reflects what may go in at the intersection until project designers get approvals on right of ways and study further what businesses could be impacted by the project.
Sidewalks and bike lanes
The council unanimously approved a recommendation to apply for a grant from the Southwest Regional Transportation Planning Organization to fund the construction of sidewalks, bike lanes and associated drainage on Boone Street in South Aberdeen.
“All we asked for was the authority to search for grant funding,” said Sangder. “The project would cover Boone Street from Harriman to one block past the college, with crosswalks and bike lanes, and the ability to get from established sidewalks at the Shoppes at Riverside to the college.”
City staff is already working on the grant application, which is due by April 21. The grants sought can run up to $250,000. Estimated costs for the project is $200,000 to $250,000. There is a 13.5 percent match required should the city get the grant, but Sangder says the city’s contribution could be covered by having the city do the design work for the project.
