MassDOT is planning the replacement of the Newton-Weston bridge over Route 128 and the Charles River. As part of that work, the state will replace the roadway from the river east to Auburn Street. This project offers an opportunity to improve safe and convenient bicycle and pedestrian access in this area of Auburndale.
Location: Auburn St / Commonwealth Ave / Carriageway Charles River
Carmel, Indiana (“Roundabout capital of the US”) has done extensive research on roundabouts. See here:
A Chat With the Mayor of Roundabout City, USA (Bloomberg CityLab 2017)
Studies show a 90 percent reduction in fatal accidents, 80 percent reduction in accidents with serious injury, and 40 percent reduction in all accidents at these intersections when a roundabout replaces a traffic signal. When there are accidents, they are typically low impact, at an angle (rather than a deadly T-bone crash), and result in mostly minor damage.
The thing most people don’t know is how much money is saved by converting traffic signals into roundabouts. Our city engineer’s office has found that on average, roundabouts in Carmel have cost $250,000 less to build than signalized intersections and they are much less expensive to maintain than signalized intersections, saving our taxpayers $5,000 per intersection per year in electricity costs.
And because we have eliminated most all of our traffic jams, we spend much less time sitting in traffic and idling our engines, which is saving about 24,000 gallons of gas per year per roundabout, based on federal highway studies, which also leads to reduced vehicular emissions and improved air quality. With 102 roundabouts and the cost of gasoline at $2 a gallon, the public is saving about $4.9 million per year.
(Auburn St will have pedestrian/bike HAWK signals)
This Cheddar video shares some reasons why, and why they are a great traffic control device.
Here is a copy of the letter of support for a roundabout at Auburn and Comm Ave from TAG, SRTS, Bike Newton, Green Newton, the Riverside Greenway Working Group, and the Solomon Foundation.
Newton advocates roundabout support letter 2021-01-10 (PDF) (272.8 KB)
