VDOT to City: a roundabout or nothing
Here is an interesting letter (PDF) from State Highway Safety Engineer Michael B. Sawyer to the Director of Public Works, Dexter White. The letter — dated June 18, 2009 — addresses some of the concerns the neighborhood and Councilman Hilbert have raised. Here are some juicy quotes:
Over the past 15 years, we [VDOT & the Virginia's Highway Safety Improvement Program (HISP)] have formed a valued partnership with the City of Richmond through a cooperation and mutual trust that has resulted in nearly $20 Million dollars of safety improvements throughout the City of Richmond. The results are astounding; through your engineers’ expertise, there are approximately 1,500 fewer deaths and injuries on the streets of the City of Richmond.
Per the HISP agreement dated 6/9/2008 between the Department [VDOT] and the City of Richmond, the only safety improvement which has been granted is to construct a roundabout … If another solution is selected, any expenses to date would not be covered by the FHWA [Federal Highway Administration]and the agreement would be void.
In 2003, House Join Resolution 594 was adopted to encourage the use of roundabouts in Virginia. Since July 2008, when VDOT revised the Road Design Manual for Virginia, roundabouts are Virginia’s preferred intersection design.
This particular safety project is behind schedule. As one of the top five worst intersections in the City, we rely on your staff to complete this safety improvement such that the citizens can experience the project’s benefits of reduced injury and potential for death from motor vehicle crashes … We strongly urge your timely construction of this project as it is in the citizens’ best interests from a safety and mobility perspective.
One of the factors that we consider in selecting and funding grant applications is the [sic] evaluating the leadership advocacy of the jurisdiction to support the safety countermeasure. The current project delay mention in #3 speaks to this issue. By terminating this agreement, future HISP funded projects may be in jeopardy as the City would not be as in strong standing as previous years with this blemish on the City’s HISP performance record.
All emphasis mine.
Again you can download the letter here (PDF) and read it in its entirety.
http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/roundabouts.html
So, basically, the Commonwealth is saying “Do it or else!” I’m so glad that Mr. Sawyer is smart enough to know exactly what the best interests of our citizens’ are. (See point #3)
The only thing this letter answers is the fact the the Commonwealth is using a stick sans carrot approach with this. It does not answer questions about safety, does not answer questions about the uneven distribution of traffic, does not answer the concerns about exiting drive ways and side streets close to the circle.
It seems that VDOT is making us install the roundabout WITHOUT answering any of the concerns that have alot of the residents of Bellevue concerned.
If you (VDOT) are just telling us that we have to install this roundabout without having the decency to at least address the many questions and concerns.
I do not see were the letter addressed any of the questions posed by Chris Hilbert, so what has changed?
I guess we now live in a dictatorship, where VDOT can order the city and it’s residents to build the roundabout without answering any questions or concerns and without exploring any alternatives is ridiculous. We DO still live in a democracy don’t we?
Regards, Mike
Are you people serious??? VDOT is “forcing” the city??? WE – the Northside citizens – asked for something to be done at this intersection after that horrific accident. The city traffic engineers researched alternatives. They came up with a viable solution AND found a funding source for it. The city submitted and application to the state for funding …. WE went to the state and asked them to give us money to help us solve OUR problem. The state reviewed the application, applied its national and state traffic safety criteria, found this intersection was a good candidate for this project and agreed to fund it. The state committed money that jurisdictions are scrambling to get because they felt this project was safe, an improvement and worth supporting.
To act like the state is forcing some sort of traffic circle on the city is beyond absurd. WE asked. To act like the city traffic engineers are imposing this solution arbitrarily is ridiculous – WE asked for solutions at this intersection.
After being handed what was asked for on a silver platter this neighborhood acts as if some evil plot is being imposed upon us. This is absolutely unbelievable. VDOT is telling us they will fund the project WE asked – nothing else. Is that so hard to understand??? They are also telling us they do not take kindly to being jerked around – processing and researching applications cost time and money, they are not done lightly. Committing money that a locality refuses to spend is not taken lightly. In case none of you ever read the papers transportation dollars are few and far between. VDOT hardly came to Richmond and “said you must take this money and you can only spend it one way.” WE asked for it.
I think the city engineers did a fine job in responding quickly to the neighborhoods horror at a tragic event. Instead of stopping and looking at any of this logically Hilbert and the lot of you naysayers go off half cocked, convinced you know more about traffic patterns and traffic safety than a multitude of engineers. You behave as if there is some hidden agenda that lurks behind all of this – if the traffic engineers install enough roundabouts they will rule the world.
Seriously, how much more does each individual citizen in Northside needs to micromanage every single facet of this city’s operation??? If we are so distrusting of every step taken that we feel no decision can be made without a consensus of Northsiders … well we will be making just about as much progress as we do right now. Good gosh you people need to get over yourselves.
Frankly, I have no opinion about the round about one way or the other. I do have an opinion about the waste of time and money that has occurred in this situation. I can’t imagine the city of the state will be responding too quickly to any “needs” we decide we have in the future. Why would they?
VDOT’s response is standard practice. Grants come with conditions, including restrictions on the use of the funds and timely performance. If you don’t perform, it hurts your ability to get future grants. Why would VDOT want to give more grants to a locality that has shown it can’t get the work done and spend the money in a timely way? That would be rewarding failure. Localities need to handle their neighborhood politics in advance of applying, or not apply at all. I’m not sure who in Richmond is most responsible for this fiasco, but it’s certainly not VDOT.
Notwithstanding the fact that the traffic numbers are skewed, I’m quite concerned that VDOT has done little to address this issue with regard to Holton School students and staff. Comparing this intersection to the one at Monument and Allen is a bit far-fetched. In our case, cars are exiting the interstate onto Laburnum at break-neck speed and most days it’s a free-for-all to see who can get through the intersection first. I think the VDOT engineers are living a pipe dream to think that the intersection will be that much safer with the construction of this little “speed bump.” I just pity those poor folks living in the adjoining neighborhoods, because those in-the-know will avoid that intersection at all costs (me included).
By the way, where were all the roundabout supporters at the 3rd Council meeting on 6/24? It would have been enlightening to hear their opinions in person rather than the snarky remarks they’ve been launching on the Yahoo groups.
A roundabout is the perfect solution for safety and enhancing the intersection – and keeping Lt. General Hill at his post watching over Bellevue and Ginter Park. That this is project is being held up by our city councilman on behalf of one or two folks who are worried about having to wait a little longer to back out of their driveways is ridiculous. Everyone should be insulted by the suggestion that motorists in the Northside would not be able to figure out how to navigate a roundabout. Jeez!