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42 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, February 26, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend January 22, 2004 Residents question roundabout plan By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune More than 70 curious residents turned out to ask questions about a roundabout alternative for a busy east Medford intersection this week. "Do drivers have to go round and round until the pedestrian clears the crosswalk?" asked neighborhood resident Scott McKay during Tuesday’s meeting at Hoover Elementary School. Parametrix, an engineering firm in Portland and Washington that is handling the project, joined Medford’s Public Works Department for an open house to present options for improving the intersection at Siskiyou Boulevard and Highland Drive. The intersection handles 16,500 vehicles per day. It was deemed unsafe for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers and put on a project list in 1996. Although a roundabout was only one of three intersection improvement alternatives presented by the city, most audience questions were about driving, bicycling and walking through the unique configuration. Advertisement A roundabout is a one-way, single-lane rotary system in which cars travel counter-clockwise. Vehicles entering yield to cars traveling on the roundabout, rather than coming to a complete stop. Currently the intersection under discussion has a four-way-stop. But it’s dangerous and confusing, city staff say, because Siskiyou Boulevard doesn’t meet squarely at the junction and there’s an island creating a "multiple stop" (the four-way stop actually has six stop signs). Parametrix representative Perry Shea told the audience that a roundabout is safer for pedestrians because they only have one direction to worry about at a time. In a modern roundabout, pedestrians have 16 to 18 feet to cross, with traffic coming from one direction, before they reach an island, and then they cross another 16 to 18 feet, having only to look in the other direction. At the intersection today, pedestrians have 60 to 70 feet to cross, with cars coming toward them from several directions. One man said since vehicles in the roundabout have the right of way, he would be cautious about entering the circle of traffic. "You have to have your nerve up to jump into a slot," he said. Shea said for slow, single-lane roundabouts, like the one proposed, traffic is slow enough that there’s time to see a car coming and pull in front of it. "Your highest speed’s going to be 15 to 18 miles (per hour)," he said. A woman asked how bicycles would access the roundabout. Shea said that as cyclists approach the roundabout, they would have the option of crossing like a pedestrian in the crosswalk, or riding around the roundabout like a car. Medford Public Works also is considering a roundabout for the intersection of Table Rock and Merriman roads. Because so many people turned out for Tuesday’s meeting, the city is considering holding a second public meeting soon. For questions or comments, contact Public Works Transportation Manager Alex Georgevitch, 774-2114 or send an e-mail to Alex.Georgevitch @ci.medford.or.us. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times