Sonoma County's proposed roundabout for Arnold Driver at Agua Caliente Road. Click to enlarge.
Sonoma County is proposing to build a roundabout on Arnold Drive at Agua Caliente Road, the entrance to the Hanna Boys Center, in the Sonoma Valley.
The roundabout, projected to cost $2 million if approved, would be built next spring and would be the first one on a major county-maintained road, officials said.
Rex Cummins, project design engineer with the county Department of Transportation and Public Works, said 2004′s voter-approved Measure M sales-tax hike specifically listed the intersection for some type of improvement. He said the intersection, now a four-way stop, has “a fair amount of delay” for traffic.
He said the county considered putting a traffic light at the intersection but went with the roundabout plan for environmental reasons. He said a stoplight would have required road work that, among other things, would have affected three nearby creeks.
Chris Seppeler, senior environmental specialist for the county’s Permit and Resource Management Department, said the intersection will be moved a bit west onto Hanna Boys Center property. He said the center was required to dedicate land for the improved intersection as part of county approval for a building project.
The proposal calls for putting native plants in the center of the roundabout, limiting cutting of trees to build the bigger intersection and replacing trees and shrubs that are removed.
The proposal will be discussed by the county Environmental Review Committee at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the public meeting room of the Permit and Resource Management Department’s office, 2550 Ventura Ave., Santa Rosa. Final approval is up to the county Board of Supervisors.
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Lou Sylvestri
Forget the Round- about.
I suggest you take the money & pave the mess at Broadway & Napa rd. & a few others.
First things first for a change.
July 18th, 2012 11:56 am
Dar
Say YES to roundabouts!!! They function extremely well, do not require a vehicle to stop when there are no other vehicles at the intersection (decreasing CO output), and allow for much smoother traffic flow. They have been installed in Truckee, CA and have been extremely helpful in negotiating a highly trafficked thoroughfare.
July 18th, 2012 12:46 pm
Cranky
Toonerville pikers. Here’s a real roundabout:
http://faculty.physics.tamu.edu/kamon/research/refColliders/LHC/2008_LHC_First_Beam/LHC_AccComplex0700829.gif
July 18th, 2012 3:41 pm
james
roundabouts are extremly dangerous. you do not know what the other driver is going to do. putting plants in the middle is the worst possible violation of traffic safety possible.( blind intersection) . We made them take out of the Humbolt Lane (designated bicycle pathway) disasters in Santa Rosa, because of the extreme danger to bicycilists and pedestrians. Drivers seem to speed up rather than proceed with caution. One of the reasons we don’t live in Europe , is we know better. Please don’t waste our tax dollars on this stupid mistake!
July 18th, 2012 4:06 pm
stephen
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep the plants in the middle limited. I hate going into roundabouts with all kinds of shrubbery in the middle that limit visibility!
July 18th, 2012 5:30 pm
Chris from Santa Rosa
james, where do you get the idea that roundabouts are “extremely dangerous”? According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, they are far safer than traditional intersections.
“Where roundabouts have been installed, motor vehicle crashes have declined by about 40 percent, and those involving injuries have been reduced by about 80 percent. Crash reductions are accompanied by significant improvements in traffic flow, thus reducing vehicle delays, fuel consumption, and air pollution.” — Q&A: Roundabouts,
http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/roundabouts.html
And the IIHS isn’t some libberul organization bent on destroying FREEDOM – their main purpose is support insurance companies’ efforts to reduce losses from traffic accidents.
July 18th, 2012 10:09 pm
ScottRAB
James,
You don’t know what you’re talking about. Modern roundabouts are the safest form of intersection in the world. Search IIHS for FAQs and safety facts.
Stephen,
You don’t need to see the other side of the roundabout at 20 mph. If you’re looking at the other side of a modern roundabout when you’re entering, you’re driving unsafely. Drivers entering a modern roundabout should first look for pedestrians, then watch for other motorists coming from the left and then watch for pedestrians when exiting. The motorist on the other side of the circle won’t get to you for 5 or ten seconds.
Regarding the design, those entries look much too gentle. The point of a modern roundabout is to slow down the interactions to about 20 mph so everything flows together safely.
July 19th, 2012 10:38 am