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Design Workshops
Good design is essential!
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District 1 (list) - (Pittsfield area - 1 "Classic" Traffic Circle) - Ross Dindio, Director,
270 Main St.
Lenox, MA 01240
(413) 784-1768, (413) 637-1750
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (Transportation) - 2003 Transportation Improvement Program, (TIP) - Berkshire Eagle (Newspaper) Adams - McKinley Square (statute unveiled 10 October 1903) - 2-way traffic on all sides! Lots of unnecessary pavement - I wonder what the crash rate is like there? Why isn't it operated as a Traffic Circle? It would take less space!! Lenox - Rt-7A & Rt-183, proposed Roundabout by monument - several years away Intersection of Rt-7 & Rt-20 almost an oval - slated for "improvements" under STIP-603655 in 2004/5 (the STIP2004.xls says $750k, & the MHD listing is for $1300k!?) - District Director wants a signalized "T" (it has a 4-lane divided hwy on the north side (map)) - Get's seriously clogged by Tanglewood traffic (2.5mi away). Ortho Photo, Topo, Accident Data (~3/mev - this is very high, but most are fender benders) Pittsfield - Mayor's Office (413)499-9321, Engineering (413)499-9327 (8:30am - 4pm) - Signalized Traffic Circle at intersection of Rt-7 & East/West Street (oval - 150ft x 300ft) Rt20 by Pittsfield Country Club & Berkshire Mutual Insurance Co - the double fatality 26 August'04 would have been impossible if a Roundabout had been in place at the time! City - East St, 4th St & Elm - Rt20 & Center Str - Former 5-way Intersection - good location for Roundabout! Coltsville (Allendale Mall) - Rt9 & Rt8 - good location for Roundabout! map (giant paved area, many turn-lanes, many waiting immobilized at lights) Williamstown - |
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District 2 (list) - (CtValley & Quabbin - 12 "Classic" Traffic Circles) - Albert Stegemann, Director,
811 North King St.
Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 584-1611 Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (Transportation) - "PVPC's Transportation section works to create and maintain a safe, dependable, environmentally sound transportation system that promotes liveable communities and the efficient movement of people and goods throughout the region. The Transportation section offers planning, analysis, and data collection services in a number of areas: traffic, transit, congestion management, bicycle/pedestrian planning, pavement management, and in-depth transportation studies." Tim Doherty, Senior Transit Planner, (413) 781-6045 x327 The 2004 Pioneer Valley TIP is a five-year schedule of projects identified by year and location complete with funding source and cost. The TIP is developed annually and is available for amendment and adjustment at any time. Each program year of the TIP coincides with the Federal Fiscal Year calendar, October 1 through September 30. All TIPs and amendments are consistent with the goals and objectives of the Regional Transportation Plan for the Pioneer Valley region. This TIP is financially constrained." Greenfield - I-91 Exit - 660ft "grade separated" "Classic Traffic Circle needs lane painting & new signs. Retrofit in Spring 2005? Greenfield Community College - main campus - "Decorative" Traffic Circle - 3-way, 2 Yields & a Stop, ~120ft ICD Greenfield Community College - main campus - Entrance at Colrain Rd & College Dr would be an excellent location! Greenfield Recorder report after Mini-presentation on Roundabouts at MHD2 offices on 21 January'04: Article (pdf) |
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District 3 (list) - (16 circular intersections: some "Classic" Traffic Circles, a few Rotaries, a few Irregular, 1 modern Roundabout) - Thomas Waruzila, Director,
403 Belmont St.
Worcester, MA 01604
(508) 754-7204
CENTRAL MASS. REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION - Transportation - Montachusett RPC (MRPC - Northern tier Worcester County?) - Hudson - old Rotary (~100ft ICD) - accessible off I-290, Exit 26, drive E on Rt-62 ~3km (2 miles) to center of town - no Yield lines or Roundabout Ahead signs Where could a WebCam be mounted? S. Berlin - "Classic" Traffic Circle (~300ft ICD) - accessible off I-290, Exit 25, drive N on River Rd ~1 km (0.7 mile) - kinda middle of nowhere! :-) @ intersection of South, River, & Whitney Roads. No Yield lines or Roundabout Ahead signs Pepperell - ~100ft small "Classic" Traffic Circle (built before 1960) at Rt-113 & River Rd. No Yield lines or Roundabout Ahead signs (circles & divider islands not painted for good visibility) <== label based on geometry as seen in MapQuest image |
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District 4 (list) - (Boston & North Shore - 54 "Classic" Traffic Circles) - Stephen O'Donnell, Director,
519 Appleton St. Arlington, MA 02174 (781) 641-8300 (just N of Rt-2, Exit-56) NORTH of MASS-PIKE .... - Amesbury - (2 Circular intersections) Market Sq (42 51 28.6N, 70 55 48.3W) has a beautiful old fountain in well maintained; needs lines, & better signs. Stopped on 2 legs with X-walks in front of Stop-lines; 1 Yield sign on island! During 30min observation ~4-5pm on a Tues, ~50% of cars stopped in the circle, yielding to entering traffic - no entering cars barged in forcing cars in circle to stop. Roundabout at intersection of Friend St / School St / Allens Ct (42 51 22.2N, 70 56 2.7W) updated & modernized by VHB design. Stopped on 1 leg, no Yield lines; 1 flush divider, & 2 raised, truck apron flush. Located right next to Town Hall & Public Safety buildings. Beautiful addition to the area. Paved Bike Trail about a mile long starting at RRStation - good start! More miles would be excellent!! Arlington (maps, 3 circles - town bounded E by Medford (Mystic River) & Somerville; S by Rt-2 & Belmont & Cambridge; W by Lexington; N by Winchester Cutter & Oak Hill - 92ft circle - ~2000ft W of Lower Mystic Lake Parallel Park ~90ft circle on Rt-60, Mystic River Bridge - 2nd circle on E end is in Medford Park Circle (water tower in center) - 2-way traffic - ~400ft - N of Rt-2, near Exit-58 |
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District 5 (list) - (SE Mass, the Cape, & Islands - 23 "Classic" Traffic Circles) - Bernard McCourt, Director,
1000 County St.
Taunton, MA 02780
(508) 824-6633
Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) - Brockton SRPEDD - Taunton - some interesting information including a pdf "100 most dangerous intersections in SE Mass" - they have a large Transportation Planning staff. --------------------------------- Duxbury - Intersection of Lincoln & Congress Streets, near Exit 11 on Rt 3 (~2001, well signed, except lacking "Yield" lines) design by GPI, Stoneham, Ma. - Mapquest Photo S.Duxbury - Hall's Corner Flag Pole should be upgraded to modern Roundabout Norfolk - 2 RDBs (each ~100ft dia) on Rt-115 finished ~2006 - Safety Committee RDB Brochure - visible in Google Earth! (2/07) New Bedford - Norwood ~500ft ICD "Prendergast Circle" - Route-1 ("grade separated" on 4-lane divided Hwy Exit) @ Neponset St. (next to Norwood Memorial Airport) *Foxborough "Foxborough Circle" (42 03 53.5N, 71 15 1.5W)(actually an Oval) Town Common - Route-140 North St & Chestnut St Roundabout (opened ~2007) - (42 04 28.5N, 71 15 33.7W) Hingham Circle (~125ft ICD on waterfront) - Route-3A *Taunton - looks more like a 250ft square!!! Route-138, Route-140, Route-44 @ Taunton Green *Bridgewater Central Square (~100x300ft) Routes 28, 104 & 18 Whitman Rt-58 & Essex St, ~180ft dia Middleborough (Routes 18, 28 & 44, ~300ft) - threatened Plymouth Nelson @ Water St. Fall River - North Main St., "Airport Rotary" @ Rt-24, Exit 8 Fall River - President Ave., Wingold St, Rt-6 (Sherman St) @ Rt-24, Exit 5 Somerset Route 103 * not conventional rotaries (irregular?) Scituate Rt-123 @ Rt-3A (42 10 37N, 70 45 03W) Opened 11/07 (design STV)(part of the MBTA Greenbush project) - Met Planning Region Stoughton - intersection of Rt27, Rt-138, & Rt-139; (42 07 31.1N, 71 06 08.6W) some people describe it as a 9-leg intersection Westport - Rt-6 Roundabout Corridor (proposed) - town leaders want it, MHD cautious. --------------------------------- Cape Cod & the Islands Cape Cod Canal Region Chamber of Commerce - Marie Oliva, Exec.Dir. supported the MHD $60 million design Cape Cod Commission , GoCapeCod; Cape Cod Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) pdf version is best Oak Bluffs- Edgartown Vineyard Haven Road at Barnes (proposed) Harwich - Rt-39 & Queen Anne's Rd (just S of Rt-6, Exit-10) Construction completed Spg'06 - Design by VHB Watertown, Ma Mashpee "Classic" Traffic Circle on Rt28 - re-Design by Vanesse for developer - sometimes circle clogged by backup from Market Str Traffic Light! (project waiting for MHD initiative) (South) Yarmouth - "Bass River Rotary", (no signs or lines - 2-way traffic on all 3 legs) ~1/3mi S of Rt-28, Pleasant & River Streets - Oldest in North America? Built 1939; Charles Henry Davis - Founder of the National Automobile Association - credited as being the "father" of the Traffic Circle --------------------------------- Cape Cod Towns - 17 towns including Martha's Vinyard & Nantucket Cape Cod Commission (CCC) - Traffic Counts - Transportation Plan 2000 available in PDF format Barnstable - Marstons Mills Roundabout - Rt 149 & Race Lane - Designed town engineers & built by town DPW with Peer Review by Michael Wallwork ~1999 replacing 4-way stop (despite mild opposition, produced immediate elimination of congestion & local air pollution) - others in design. - Hyannis, RDB proposed by Skating Rink on Bassett Lane & Bearses Way - construction 2007/2008 - Route 149 @ Race Lane (modern Roundabout) - Hyannis/Airport Rotary - Route 132 @ Route 28 - 2007: Retrofit plans are in the works - Hyannis, East End Rotary - @ Cape Cod Hospital(replaced with signals by town in 2003) - Hyannis, West End Rotary - (~180fr dia) West Main & North Street.(Melody) - proposed retro-fitting ~2008? Bourne - Sagamore "Classic" Traffic Circle, Rt 25 (5 leg, 300ft dia, mainland side) may be destroyed & replaced by multi-level interchange - cam Cape Cod Commission opposition to destruction) - NEAR Commentary Bourne - "Classic" Traffic Circle, Rt 6 (4 leg, 300ft dia, Cape side) was threatened, & is still under scrutiny - cam Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) Cape Cod Commission - dedicated to controlled, planned growth in Barnstable County's 15 towns --------------------------------- |
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| This is a collection of Internet references related to Roundabout issues & design criteria - I had wanted to include prices, but many are constructed as part of a bigger project, & so figures are usually impossible or misleading. The one reliable estimate seems to be that the cost of a Roundabout is about the same as the cost of signalizing the same intersection. There is also some anecdotal evidence that at this early stage in North American Roundabout construction & design, overpricing & over design may be occurring. Where ever you see the word "Traffic", they seem to be the people who design "Intersections" Prepared by RNWhite, NEAR(at)cox.net in Fall 2002, revised Apr'07. I predicted in June'03 there would be too many Roundabouts by 2010 in the Northeast to list them individually! I'm very impressed by the extent of the work being done on both the planning & engineering fronts in most of New England!! |
