Roundabout may be controversial but so far it’s safe

Athens Police Capt. Tom Pyle said Friday that the only accidents so far at the location have been construction-related.

"We've had several large trucks hit the attenuator there on the new Richland bridge," he said. "The attenuator is the big piece of steel that juts out in front of the temporary Jersey barriers where they have the sidewalk on the wrong side of the bridge right now."

Pyle said that this attenuator is scheduled to be removed by Aug. 30. He added that he has not been made aware of any traffic accidents within the roundabout itself.

Various complaints about the intersection have been lodged with the APD, however, Pyle confirmed.

"Most of the complaints are because of frustration from unfamiliarity with the roundabout rules, and that sort of thing," he said. "Some people have called and complained that they don't know how to drive through it. They've wanted advice on how to drive through it."

His main advice, he said, is that people inside of the roundabout have the right-of-way. Those inside the roundabout should drive defensively, because the intersection is new and people aren't yet familiar with it. The situation is continuing to improve as people become acclimated to the roundabout, he added.

Problems of traffic backing up south on Richland Avenue have arisen, Pyle said. This tends to be related to the timing of the light at Richland and Shafer Street, he said. It is exacerbated by the fact that only two lanes of travel are currently open north and south.

"Once the bridge is entirely opened up, and the thing is functioning with all entries and exit points like it should, we expect that to be alleviated somewhat," Pyle said.

The city streets department plans to change the timing and phasing of the Shafer/Richland intersection traffic light, he added, to help with that issue.

With a large influx of students expected over the coming weeks, Pyle pointed out that the space in that area is limited. "The intersection that was there previous to the roundabout, and the intersections that were proposed that were more costly than the roundabout and turned down, none of those can be designed to handle special events," he said. "We knew that going in, that there would still be some traffic congestion no matter what we did down there."

Special events will still require police officers to control and direct traffic.

"We do expect some traffic jams, like every other year prior to the roundabout," he said.

The previous intersection was the site of a large number of traffic incidents, he said, including high-speed accidents, T-bone accidents, and some resulting in serious injuries and fatalities.

"This (the roundabout) tends to slow traffic down in all directions," he said. "And, hopefully, what accidents we do have will be less in severity."

While construction is underway, pedestrians will be routed in various directions, Pyle said. He said during high traffic periods such as move-in pedestrians will be encouraged to use the underground tunnel.

Andy Stone, city engineer and director of public works, said that the project is nearing completion and the contractor is expected to meet the incentive to complete phase three by Aug. 28. That means that all traffic and pedestrian lanes will be open to traffic, though landscaping work will still need to be done.

Stone said that the bottleneck is currently at the Shafer/Richland intersection, where the northbound traffic has been narrowed from three lanes to two lanes. Once the project is completed, he said, it will reopen to three lanes once again.

RESIDENTS HAVE VOICED a variety of opinions on the new roundabout. One resident, Christi Lee, said she thinks the roundabout was a big mistake. She cited delays at the beginning and end of the day, as well as around lunchtime.

"When we add the student population and all the professors that have not had to deal with this yet, it will be a nightmare," she predicted in an e-mail. She also noted that the roundabout is small, and said she witnessed a semi-truck have to stop, reverse and then continue in order to navigate the circle. "I think limiting access to bigger trucks should be required," she said.

In a discussion on The Athens NEWS' Facebook page, some residents said that while they haven't encountered problems with the intersection, they still avoid it. Another resident complained that, as a pedestrian, she has to wait long periods of time at the crosswalk because vehicular traffic ignores it.

Another resident said that she really likes the new roundabout.

"I wish people would keep an open mind about it until drivers have a chance to get used to it," she posted on the Facebook page. "It doesn't seem fair to judge it before the project is even complete."

One resident who reported using the roundabout on a daily basis said her experience has been mostly positive. She said people who are intimidated by it are sometimes frustrating.

"All the construction cones and tape and people make it a little more complicated than it will be when complete," she said.

Several others reported almost being sideswiped and other cars failing to yield.