Title
Discuss the Citywide Roundabout Analysis (Gail Payne, Senior Transportation Coordinator and Mike Alston, Kittelson & Associates, Inc.) (Discussion Item)
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To: Honorable Chair and Members of the Transportation Commission
BACKGROUND
Roundabouts can be an important tool in the implementation of the Vision Zero policy, which prioritizes the reduction of fatal and severe injury crashes to zero. In November 2019, the City Council adopted a resolution establishing Vision Zero as the City's guiding principle for transportation planning, design and maintenance. In 2021, the City Council approved the Vision Zero Action Plan, which includes specific actions and policy changes to increase street safety in Alameda. The Vision Zero webpage is at www.alamedaca.gov/VisionZero
Roundabouts reduce the types of crashes where people are seriously hurt or killed by 90 percent when compared to conventional stop-controlled and signalized intersections. Roundabouts result in lower vehicle speeds, generally 15-25 miles per hour, around the roundabout. Crashes that occur will be less severe because of this reduced speed. Pedestrians are generally safer at roundabouts, and are faced with simpler decisions at a time. Roundabouts also reduce delays compared to traffic signals, provide landscaping and flood reduction opportunities, and have lower maintenance costs.
Due to the benefits of modern roundabouts, the City's Annual Report on Transportation (January 2021) stated that staff would hire Kittelson to provide an educational presentation on roundabouts, to identify top locations for potential roundabouts, to peer review the proposed Central Avenue roundabouts, and to add policies related to roundabouts in the General Plan update. The first amendment of the agreement included an evaluation of the Mecartney Road/Island Drive intersection for a potential roundabout, a peer review of the proposed roundabout at Sherman Street/Encinal Avenue/Central Avenue with potential r...
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