When we first saw the concept of a big traffic roundabout on the west side of Wedington Drive at Interstate 540, the reaction was fairly universal.
Wow.
Not a bad wow. Not really a good wow, either. It was more of a wow at just the idea the city thought the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department might get on board with such an idea. After all, one official noted the state agency had never approved a roundabout at an interstate interchange before.
We can’t imagine they’ve been asked to do it very often, if at all. Leave it to Fayetteville to keep it funky.
The roundabout proposal arose as part of the Wedington Corridor Neighborhood Master Plan.
The people in west Fayetteville may remember last fall when city planners met with about 85 residents during a week long discussion of how they would like to see the Wedington corridor develop from Interstate 540 to Broyles Avenue. We can’t say there were hordes of people demanding a roundabout, but there are ongoing concerns about traffic congestion at the interchange and west. The plan envisions a tree-lined center median on what would become a Wedington Boulevard aligned with and connecting walking and bike paths in the area.
But the eye-popper was the roundabout, as planners try to innovate their way into better handling of traffic. The road is heavily used and has two traffic signals to the east and west of the bridge going over the interstate.
Why a roundabout? Well, first it must be said the pros and cons of roundabouts leave much to be debated. There isn’t one statistic that will suddenly convert a skeptic. But generally speaking, advocates of roundabouts argue they are preferred in certain circumstances because they keep traffic moving;
because accidents are less violent when they do occur because everyone’s moving in the same direction; because they can be far more attractive intersections than those with traffic signals; and require less maintenance of electronic signals.
Advocates, however, are no doubt used to public reaction being negative. When in doubt, people will often stick with what’s tried and true. Community leaders also have to answer this question: Why should Fayetteville and other communities in Northwest Arkansas install roundabouts when some other communities who got roundabout fever years ago have removed them?
Without question, roundabouts in Rogers and Bentonville have caused a fair share of consternation, mostly arising from the lack of familiarity drivers have with the traffic control structures. The Highway Department remains unconvinced, but apparently in an open-minded fashion. A spokesman told our reporter they’ll undertake land surveys and run traffic models before deciding whether a roundabout is feasible.
“It’s an interesting design element to consider,” department spokesman Danny Straessle said. “What may look off the cuff as pie in the sky ... when we put numbers to it and model it, it might be something that’s actually very reasonable.”
Official position: We’ll see. With construction on the new interchange at Wedington slated for 2015, there’s time to crunch the numbers and look at designs. Count us among the skeptics, but not antagonistic to the idea.
When the time comes for more public meetings on the city’s master plan for the area and the highway department’s interchange project, the people of Fayetteville will need to get involved, learn about the possibilities and speak out.
Until all the data are in, we’re just going round in circles.
Opinion, Pages 5 on 03/12/2013