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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4B Public CommentAnthony Mejia From: Sent: To: Subject: Curt Watts <CWinPS@hotmail.com> Wednesday, April 21, 2021 9:57 AM City Clerk Public Comment -Item 4B. REVIEW DESIGN CONCEPT AND PROVIDE DIRECTION ON THE PALM CANYON DRIVE/ INDIAN CANYON DRIVE/ CAMINO PAROCELA TRAFFIC ROUND-ABOUT, CITY PROJECT NO. 20-03 This is a supplement comment to my communication of 04-20-2021 on this topic. After walking the intersection this morning, I think it's very important to consider how pedestrians and/or bicyclists will be able to safely cross the designated crosswalks and the impact on vehicular traffic. Whether or not there will be supplemental traffic lights to stop traffic for pedestrian crossings, or if pedestrians have to "gauge" the proper opening time for them to cross safely, this seems to have an inherent issue with stopping vehicular traffic in the middle of the roundabout, or stacking vehicles in the approach to the roundabout, to accommodate pedestrians and/or bicyclists when needing to cross adjacent streets without gridlock for the entire roundabout and adjacent areas. Please clarify. Curt Watts 129 Vibe Way 1 '1/ii/zozt 4 fJ Pubt;e /»mffll111 2 Anthony Mejia From: Sent: To: Subject: Attachments: Curt Watts <CWinPS@hotmail.com> Tuesday, April 20, 2021 10:04 AM City Clerk Public Comment -Item 4B -Traffic Round-About Palm Springs Roundabout Discussion.docx I have grave concerns about the truly acceptable feasibility of the proposed round-about for our community at such a vital intersection which serves as a major entry/exit point to/from our Downtown (and located between nearby signalized cross street intersections at Ramon and Sunny Dunes). My concerns focus primarily about: 1) Whether or not there's documented history of higher than average traffic accidents and/or fatalities at this intersection subsequent to the recent Indian Canyon reconfiguration for two-way traffic (which I heartily supported for all the reasons that drove the Council's prior decision for that change); 2) The (in)ability of tourists and infrequent visitors from "down Valley" being able to navigate the intersection properly; 3) The vast amount of signage and street markings needed to inform and possibly confuse motorists of appropriate turning and yield actions; 4) The safety of pedestrians and bicyclists trying to navigate through the area without the existence of stop lights to bring vehicular traffic to a stop when needed; 5) The confusion created around the round-about contributing to entry/exit problems for local businesses in the immediate vicinity of the round-about (i.e. Bank of America, Revivals, gas station south of the intersection, etc.); and 6) The complexity of this location with multi-lanes in many directions and numerous pedestrian and bicyclists movements throughout (many of the on line Pros I've read relate primarily to fairly simple intersections with lighter traffic loads and limited pedestrian and bicyclist activity -all of which would make it much easier for motorists to follow directional signage). See also attached for a sampling of on-line comments regarding cons for roundabouts (especially when they're not simply replacing traffic lights at a simple four-way intersection). Thanks for listening. Curt Watts 129 Vibe Way Sent from Mail for Windows 10 1 y /ti/Vrt( Y ~ fubli~ L cumt'htn r The Cons of Roundabouts In a roundabout, drivers are to yield at entry to traffic, then enter the intersection and exit at their desired street. Five safety risks at roundabouts include: 1. Driver uncertainty about yielding. When approaching a roundabout, drivers are to yield to traffic already in them. However, some drivers believe you have to stop completely at roundabouts while others may not know who has to yield the right of away, dangerously entering the intersection into oncoming traffic. This is particularly true with drivers unfamiliar with roundabouts. As drivers become more familiar with roundabouts, the level of safety at intersections can improve. 2. Too many merge points, especially in roundabouts with more than four streets and multi-lanes. The more traffic coming onto a roundabout, the greater the risk of collisions. There are also drivers that change lanes in multi-land roundabouts which adds to the danger. This impacts pedestrians and bicyclists as well. 3. Driver speed. While roundabouts to force drivers to slow down, many drivers still enter and proceed through them at too high a velocity imperiling others. 4. Drivers may try to 'cut' the roundabout. At smaller intersections, instead of going around them in a counterclockwise manner, some drivers turn left in front of the circles to save time. This endangers other vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians. 5. Shoulder lane for bicyclists and pedestrians can be narrow, if existent at all. Roundabouts need more space than traditional intersections and this lack of a defined shoulder can put others in peril. A sampling of on-line comments re; Roundabout Cons: 1) Marginalizes pedestrian and bicycle traffic. 2) They aren't right for every intersection ... 3) When riding a bike a car will always overtake the bike just before the roundabout but then slow down to enter, forcing the bike to go through the roundabout at an embarrassingly slow speed. A car in a roundabout will always slow and yield to a bike approaching a roundabout. But the bike has to slow and yield to the car as well because getting hit by a car sucks. So it takes twice as long for the bike to get through the roundabout. Roundabouts are deadly for cyclists. 4) Car drivers are so much focused on finding their place in the moving ring that they simply don't see cyclists. I know, I almost killed one. The only reason you don't see more dead cyclists on roundabouts is that they avoid them, by either using a different road or using a car instead. Roundabouts are in effect a tremendous barrier against the use of alternative modes of transportation. 5) Director of Health Professions Advising at The University of Texas at Dallas (2020-present) Answered June 14, 2019 My mother was a US traffic engineer, and she absolutely HATED roundabouts. "Dangerous, ineffective, ugly, and a waste of space" she said. Dangerous -Any time you're asking drivers to change lanes in close proximity to one another, to make hurried choices, or to navigate with limited awareness of the terrain and traffic ahead, that increases the chance for collisions. Ineffective -US traffic engineering-because traffic lights are common-largely comes down to timing. Stop lights cause the cars to cluster up, so a clever engineer can time the traffic lights to make sure that most of the people most of the time will travel the roads with a minimum of long stops. If you've noticed that your driving experience involves traveling in a pack of cars who sail through most lights on green, making only a few stops of mostly less than a minute, that's good traffic engineering. The result is millions of drivers tending to reach their destinations faster. 6) Roundabouts (aka "Traffic circles" for our US readers) are a really excellent solution for light traffic because most of the time, they allow cars to sail through the intersection without slowing down too much. Traffic lights are much better when the traffic is really heavy, though -in those situations, roundabouts are prone to things akin to "gridlock". 7) Roundabouts, like other devices Europeans like to call "traffic calming," are impediments to traffic flow. They impede traffic -including emergency and first responder vehicles -24/7, no matter the conditions. Contrary to what many claim, roundabouts increase the number of accidents, though they tend to decrease accident severity. Roundabouts are VASTLY more expensive to build and maintain than standard on-grade intersections controlled by conventional signage and/or signals. Roundabouts are confusing to drivers. Nothing that purposely confuses drivers is going to be good. Traffic light operation can be programmed and/or adjusted for time of day, traffic volume, accidents or emergencies, etc. 8) Minuses for Roundabouts: • The right-of-way rules vary and confuse drivers • They don't handle multi-lane highways well. • They take up more real estate. • There is no safe pedestrian crossing. 9) Pluses for Traffic lights: • They can control each lane individually • They can be coordinated to manage overall flow in a city. • They can be adjusted for time of day, traffic volumes, emergency situations, and other special cases. • They can provide safe pedestrian crossing. 10) Roundabouts fail when the traffic becomes too heavy. Multiple roundabouts in Singapore now have traffic lights controlling entry into the roundabout because of the impossibility of traffic wanting to go in multiple directions. If you have a single lane road dropping into a single lane roundabout, things are just ducky. But when you have a three or four lane thoroughfare entering a three or four lane roundabout, things are a mess. The inside lanes must cross over all roundabout lanes to stay in their lanes. 11) In theory, roundabouts keep traffic flowing better. In Europe, where people know how to yield and merge properly, they work great. In the US, most people don't grasp the yield and Right-of-way concepts so well. So traffic lights tend to work better in heavy traffic. People eventually stop after the light has been red for awhile, so with the exception of the drivers who think right on red without stopping, looking, or otherwise acknowledging oncoming traffic, traffic lights are what people are accustomed to. They don't need to learn how to yield and merge at the same time. On a side note, drivers in Europe typically signal their intent to exit a roundabout. In the U.S., not going to happen. 12) I will add one "pro" of roundabouts ... The wonderful opportunity to vent your frustration when you are behind someone in the roundabout who stops for incoming traffic.