Sisters could be pilot study for roundabouts

For a time it appeared that roundabouts in Sisters were a dead issue.

Then, last week, ODOT Director Matt Garrett approached Mayor Lon Kellstrom and City Manager Eileen Stein directly, offering to personally facilitate discussions between the City of Sisters and the freight industry in an attempt to come to an agreement on the use of roundabouts on Highway 20 through town.

"We don't want to be at odds with the freight industry. We want to spend time at the table to make sure both sides get heard," said Bob Bryant, ODOT Region 4 (Central Oregon) manager. "I think it is timely...for us to have this conversation...we have some things to work through. Director Garrett has asked if we could look at Sisters as an example of working through a pilot with the freight industry to see if some of the things coming out of the national study (on roundabouts) could be implemented right here in Sisters."

Bryant was speaking last Thursday morning as a guest at a workshop in Sisters attended by the Deschutes County Commissioners, the Sisters City Council and city staff.

Scott Beaird, of Kittelson & Associates, delivered an overview summary of the roundabout feasibility study commissioned by the City of Sisters. The study of traffic control options on Highway 20 at both Barclay and Locust was as an offshoot of the Cascade Avenue upgrade project, due to start construction in early 2013. Acceptable traffic control at both the Barclay and Locust intersections was a condition of the freight industry's acceptance of a design exception that is a key component of the Cascade Avenue upgrade project.

Beaird began his presentation with a series of statistics distilled from a number of national studies of roundabouts on major highways.

"The primary reason to look at roundabouts is safety...nationally the data that has been collected is very compelling. They have the potential to reduce and minimize delay and reduce emissions," said Beaird.

"Nationally...at intersections that were un-signalized or where signals were replaced by roundabouts...we have seen a 90 to 100 perdent reduction in fatalities," said Beaird.

This is based on 2,000 roundabouts nationally studied over the last 10 years.

Injury crashes were reduced by 80 percent, and all crashes caused by "two vehicles occupying the same place at the same time" were reduced by 35 to 50 percent. The increased safety is a direct result of the decreased speed (roundabouts are designed for 25 mph), and the decrease in the number of potential conflict points.

Beaird also noted that pedestrian/car conflicts are not only reduced by 30 percent, but the potential for fatal pedestrian/car conflicts is drastically reduced. Speed again is the issue. At 40 mph the chance of fatality it 85 percent, while at 25 mph that chance is only 15 percent.

"A lot of folks feel that roundabouts cause gridlock," said Beaird. "The research bears out differently... The studies show that delays are reduced by 85 percent and stops are reduced by 56 percent. At the intersections... emissions are reduced 20 to 40 percent, and fuel consumption is reduced by 30 percent.

"So why haven't roundabouts caught on like wildfire?" queried Beaird. "Actually, the increase in (the number) of roundabouts being built each year really is exponential...but there are still communities that are hesitant to put them in. The studies show that the public attitude in communities that were planning to put in roundabouts but didn't have one yet...was on the order of 70 percent negative or very negative toward the idea of a roundabout. A little time after the roundabout went in, a complete flip-flop, the surveys showed 70 percent or so in favor of the roundabout."

So what is ODOT's position on roundabouts for state highways? Beaird stated that the national and ODOT goal is to move to zero deaths. Based on the data showing the increased safety of roundabouts, in 2008 Director Garrett directed the states planner to consider roundabouts before traffic lights in all new plans.

But, in 2011 a bill was introduced to the Oregon legislature that would prohibit roundabouts on state highways. While the bill never made it out of committee, it raised enough questions that Director Garrett decided to halt considerations of roundabouts on state highways until ODOT had an opportunity to look at and find solutions for the concerns that the freight industry had expressed.

Locally, Sisters Director of Public Works Paul Bertagna voiced his concern about safety during the "Outlaw 500." Bertagna was referring to the daily commute in Sisters that has residents coming from the subdivisions north of town and crossing at the Barclay intersection to drop kids off at school. Locust has a similar problem.

"I've been involved with this for five years now, and I don't feel we are any closer today than we were five years ago," said Councilor Pat Thompson. "Someone needs to tell us if the city's input, if the public's input, if the county's input is going to have any bearing on the state's decision. I don't have the patience for the bureaucracy sometimes, every day we have a danger... I would hate to see a death before somebody pays attention or speeds up the process."

Deschutes County Commissioner Alan Unger responded, "I hear your frustration Pat, but this is the same frustration that the rest of the people who use the highway have had for decades. Sisters can't make up their mind about how they want to have a solution to the highway going through their town!"

ODOT's Bryant said, "Having made that milestone deciding on as a community what you like to see here is a huge step for us because that gives us something to work from...(the challenge is) how can you scale it back to something that is affordable now, still provides the function in the short term and leaves the opportunity to build it out as growth occurs in the future to accommodate demand as those volumes increase."

A community workshop is in the works, according to City Manager Eileen Stein. Notice will be posted on the city's Web site, www.ci.sisters.or.us/