Roundabout to calm highway traffic

City commissioners held a public workshop on Tuesday, Oct 6 with members of the Franklin County Traffic Safety Team (FCTST), the Apalachicola Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) and officials from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).

The workshop was called to discuss the installation of a roundabout at the intersection of Market Street and US Highway 98.

A roundabout is a circular intersection at which traffic is slowed down as it enters a one-way stream around a central island. With a roundabout, direct left-turns are eliminated by making drivers circulate around the central island to the desired destination leg of the intersection. The circulating movement of a roundabout eliminates the potential for high speed, right angle, and left turn/head on collisions.

City officials have been after the FDOT to install a standard traffic signal at the intersection for a number of years, however state transportation officials reasoned that the traffic count was to low and the only way to justify a traffic signal would be for someone to get seriously injured or killed while negotiating the intersection.

However, FDOT officials have always expressed a wiliness to consider making other improvements that would benefit traffic flow and safety by way of installing a roundabout at the location.

Apparently the concerns of the Traffic Safety Team somewhat parallels with that of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.

As part of the city’s Comprehensive Plan EAR Based Amendment, planning and zoning members were already engaged in a separate discussion concerning a decline in the Level of Service (LOS) on US Highway 98, throughout the downtown area.

Through a written list of recommendations passed out at the workshop, P&Z asked that the FDOT determine the severity of the congestion problem on US Highway 98 between CR 384 and the bridge.

In addition, they asked the FDOT to evaluate the need for turn lanes and the traffic impacts of any proposed development as well as any reasonable potential for reducing future impacts through transportation alternatives, such as sidewalks connections to the recently completed satellite parking area and bike ways.

If the city approves the roundabout concept, at their own expense the FDOT would also improve the pedestrian crosswalks, and redesign the sidewalk on the southwest side of Market Street from the Seafood Grill down to Avenue D.

At the workshop the only concerns to the proposal voiced by the public, were the loss of about 12 parking spaces to accommodate the roundabout, the loss of the ability of service trucks to park in the middle of the street and whether the roundabout would actually work.

Florida transportation officials had already created a computer model of the intersection and found that a roundabout is entirely feasible. However, they are reluctant to go beyond the conceptual stage and authorize the expenditure of funds on engineering and design without a positive show of interest from both the public and city officials.

Bob Deiter, Chairman of the Traffic Safety Team has asked that the public direct any comments or concerns that they may have to him at rdieter@digitalexp.com or attend the next FCTST meeting scheduled for 12:00PM Wednesday, October 21 at city hall.