Roundabout plan may get a trial spin

Forest Lake, MN considers building first of 7 traffic circles next year BY ALEX FRIEDRICH Pioneer Press Forest Lake residents nervous about navigating the seven roundabouts planned for Broadway Avenue in 2008 may get a taste next year of what's to come. City officials on Monday will consider building one roundabout next summer at Broadway Avenue West and Lake Street, also known as U.S. 61. It's a move designed to decrease the traffic disruption the seven-roundabout project is expected to create. And some city officials say it avoids bombarding an unfamiliar public with seven of the traffic circles at once. "This has more to do with traffic management, but it also gives us the opportunity to do just one," Mayor Terry Smith said. Planners are trying to use roundabouts to solve the traffic nightmare along Broadway Avenue West, the four-lane road leading from Lake Street North downtown to just west of Interstate 35. Traffic can be clogged for blocks at rush hour, and it is the most crash-prone street in Washington County. Roundabouts direct vehicles into a one-way traffic circle at intersections. Planners say they keep traffic flowing smoothly and reduce the number and severity of accidents. Although roundabouts can be confusing at first, backers say they are easier to navigate than stoplights, because drivers only have to worry about merging with traffic coming from one direction. Forest Lake's plan envisions roundabouts at Broadway Avenue's intersections with Lake, Fourth, Seventh, 12th and 19th streets — plus two where the street meets Interstate 35 ramps. To increase safety, a raised median would run down the middle of the street to prevent drivers from making dangerous left turns. The roundabouts themselves would have two lanes. The plan would cost at least $10 million. If things go smoothly, construction on the first would begin in July. Construction on the rest could begin in early 2008, with all but landscaping finished by late 2008. When city officials several months ago proposed the idea for seven roundabouts — which would be the longest string in Minnesota — some business owners and residents were skeptical. Then-City Council Member Dick Tschida suggested trying one and seeing how it worked. Council Member Rick Ashbach said Friday that "bringing familiarity (of the roundabout) to the community before they all hit makes a lot of sense." Smith said he proposed the idea several weeks ago, mainly as a way to minimize the project's disruption of traffic. If workers tore up all of Broadway — including the Broadway-Lake intersection — it would be difficult to detour Lake Street traffic through the construction on Broadway, he said. "To tear up Broadway and Highway 61 at the same time would create a horrendous traffic mess," Smith said. If planners put in the Broadway-Lake roundabout first, the mayor said, they could easily detour traffic through Broadway. The finished roundabout could then handle Lake Street traffic when the rest of Broadway is torn up next year, he said. Putting in the roundabout next year would also fit the timing of other construction plans for those two roads, city and county officials said. "It would be nice to do everything at the same time," said Washington County Transportation Manager Sandra Cullen, who said county engineers support the proposal. Sanket Bhakta, owner of the AmericInn on Broadway, said business owners have been concerned that roundabouts and medians will decrease customers' access to their businesses by making left turns impossible. But he called the try-out plan for the one roundabout "a great idea." Alex Friedrich can be reached at [email protected] or 651-228-2109.

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