Going 'round in circles
Town's roundabout idea on hold for now
EDWARD C. FENNELL
The Post and Courier
A red pickup truck on South Laurel Street waits to turn onto Central Avenue in Summerville. A traffic roundabout being considered for the intersection would bring big changes to the traffic flow, but the projected construction costs have caused Town Council to put it off for now.
EDWARD C. FENNELL
The Post and Courier
A large truck has no trouble navigating Summerville's only traffic roundabout, on Marymeade Drive at the entrance to The Tradition apartments. A roundabout like this could come to Central Avenue someday.
Someday they may get around to creating a roundabout at Central Avenue and South Laurel Street in Summerville.
A roundabout, similar to those in use in Mount Pleasant and elsewhere in the Lowcountry, might expedite traffic at the busy intersection while having a "calming effect" on lead-footed motorists, a Town Council committee has concluded, but for now, there are more pressing town needs than a half-million-dollar traffic project.
"It would be good for us to try a roundabout. It could be a partial solution to our problems," Councilman Howard Bridgman said at a May 7 Public Works Committee meeting.
After hearing from Town Engineer Russell Cornett, Bridgman and committee members Rick Waring and Bob Flowers agreed that now is not the time to pursue the roundabout.
"The $500,000 estimated to construct a roundabout on Central Avenue could be used to resurface approximately six miles of road," Cornett told the committee. He said the town owns about 100 miles of road, many of them 20 years old, that soon will need resurfacing. "Our first priority is resurfacing," he said.
Cornett was asked by Bridgman in December to look into the feasibility of a roundabout at the Central Avenue intersection. "(The S.C. Department of Transportation) does not oppose a roundabout at this location. ... The project is feasible," Cornett said his inquiry found. He said a comprehensive traffic study made for the town in 2007 identified several projects that could relieve traffic congestion. The study recommended many intersection improvements, but found the Central Avenue-Laurel Street crossing to be at priority No. 20, he said.
The study found that traffic on Central can be improved by adjustments to traffic-signal timing at the Central-Carolina avenues intersection, with the addition of a left-turn lane on Central. Those improvements are estimated to cost $160,000, Cornett said.
Installation of a right-turn lane on Main Street (U.S. Highway 17A) at East Carolina Avenue, at an estimated cost of $402,000, is the highest-priority intersection improvement and the No. 9 overall recommended project in the study, he said.
The proposed roundabout would have an inside diameter of 40 feet, with 16- to 18-foot-wide lanes. The project would be large enough to accommodate tractor-trailer rigs. Depending on placement, roundabout construction would require some land acquisition and the removal of some trees, Cornett said.
The town's look into roundabout feasibility did not include preparation of a sketch, town official said.
Charlie Miller, town director of planning and economic development, said Summerville already has a roundabout, although it's unseen by many at its location on Marymeade Drive, behind Wal-Mart and at the entrance to The Tradition apartments. Miller said that roundabout has handled all traffic, including huge trucks, quite well.
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