Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb

PART 2: Time for leadership on 27th street roundabouts

In yesterday's post I spoke of the need for leadership in ensuring that the best possible traffic features are installed on 27th Street.

To recap a bit: Roundabouts provide continuous movement of vehicles through an intersection at lowered speeds without any full stops. Unlike traditional intersections with stoplights, vehicles in roundabouts slow to yield to other vehicles in the circle and then merge into the flow. This continuous movement saves time, fuel, and money.

After reviewing a report comparing intersections to roundabouts (as prepared by consultants HNTB), the Franklin-Oak Creek Joint 27th Street Steering Committee unanimously voted to recommend to the Common Councils of their respective cities that they pass a resolution in favor of roundabouts on 27th Street.

Oak Creek will vote on it at their next meeting (tomorrow night); in Franklin, however, the item was removed from this Tuesday's agenda by Alderman Ken Skowronski and Mayor Tom Taylor.

Alderman Skowronski feels that the 27th Street Steering Committee  is a “sub-committee” of the Franklin Economic Development Committee (which he chairs and of which I am a member), and that the EDC should take it up before it goes to council.

Mayor Taylor has said that he's heard anti-roundabout sentiment from constituents, and is therefor against them. 

I doubt that I can change Alderman Skowronski's predisposition against roundabouts. He is under the erroneous impression that they may slow traffic, when in fact studies show that traffic proceeds more efficiently and indeed faster from point to point while maintaining slightly slower (safer) speeds enroute - - not coming to a full stop and waiting for people to turn in front of you really helps move things along.

I sent an email to Mayor Taylor asking that we discuss his contention that "anti-roundabout sentiment from constituents" should indeed stop him from ensuring the best outcome for 27th Street by endorsing - - or allowing to be endorsed via common council vote - - construction of roundabouts.

This is where LEADERSHIP comes in - with more than a little help from cold, hard facts.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) performed a study titled Crash Reductions Following Installation of Roundabouts in the United States in 2000 on 24 U.S. intersections that had been converted both signalized intersections
and stop-controlled intersections to modern roundabouts. Similarly, the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) also completed a related study in 2002. The U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
also produced Roundabouts: An Information Guide in 2000 with safety statistics contained.

Some of their findings:

• 38 - 40% average reduction in all crash types
• 74 - 78% average decrease in injury accidents
• 90% average decrease in fatalities or incapacitating injuries
• 30 - 40% average decrease in pedestrian accidents (depending on the
  roundabout location and existing pedestrian volumes)
• As much as a 75% reduction in delay where roundabouts replaced signals

But there are a few members of the public who are wary of roundabouts; it's human nature to fear the unknown. Others are annoyed by them; how they cause you to have to think for a bit while driving. It's also human nature for those with fears, apprehensions and/or anger to become the squeaky wheels, while those content to participate in change generally remain silent.

So, on the one hand you have overwhelming statistics indicating the safety and efficiency superiority of roundabouts, and on the other hand you have... people who might be annoyed?

If the potential displeasure of a segment of the electorate is the "problem," rest assured that I have your answer below. I brought these charts to the Joint 27th Street Steering Committee meeting, but it turned out that I didn't need them; HNTB incorporated these findings (published by the Washington State Department of Transportation) into their explanation that "Community Acceptance" could in fact be a positive in favor of roundabouts over intersections - - favorable opinion of roundabouts DOUBLED after drivers used them, and those strongly opposed shrank enormously from 41% to 11%.

Click on each chart to embiggen.

ABOVE: Public Opinion BEFORE driving roundabouts

ABOVE: Public Opinion AFTER driving roundabouts

On the "After" chart, see that blue line in favor of roundabouts STRETCH skyward? And the green "Strongly Oppose" line is receding like an earthworm into the ground.

So, the mayor can rest assurred that the "negative feedback" he is experiencing now will indeed flip to the positive side once drivers experience roundabouts regularly. And, as this community's leader, it falls to Mayor Taylor to ensure that we attend to facts and legitimate research before succumbing to the frailities of mere intuition and human nature.

At the very least, that means making sure it roundabouts are discussed by our common council.

Time for leadership on 27th street roundabouts

I remember the first time I encountered a roundabout. My wife and I were en route to IKEA, and I recall releasing an expletive under my breath as, suddenly jolted from my semi-autopilot revelry, I navigated through to the other side. Whereupon I reengaged the autopilot.

To the uninitiated driver, roundabouts seem to be little more than a nuisance. For one thing, a roundabout creates the sudden (and unfamiliar) need to re-engage with one's surroundings rather than simply obey a light. It's a sad fact of human nature that we would rather have a little red light grind us to a dead stop than proceed unimpeded through a traffic innovation that demands little more from us than our attention.

Ask the average person who hasn't used a roundabout regularly, and they will likely wrinkle their nose at the notion. We do not like what we do not know.

It's unfortunate that Franklin's initial impression of roundabouts is formed by a faux-roundabout - - actually a roundabout in miniature - - built in front of Shoppes at Wyndham Village as an effort to allay the thru-traffic fears of the residential subdivision across the street. Some drivers may have traveled the roundabout in New Berlin, which is complicated by its interaction with the freeway ramps (though still fairly easy to deal with).

And it doesn't help that we have a state senator pouring sand in the gears with specious reasoning and reactionary concerns clouding her judgment. State Senator Mary Lazich's complaint that "I've had constituents [who have no experience with roundabouts] voice their concerns to me" does not stack up against the voluminous hard data that supports roundabouts as superior on multiple levels - safety foremost - to traditional intersections.

The Franklin-Oak Creek Joint 27th Street Steering Committee discussed the benefits of roundabouts vs. intersections at their June 10th meeting. Though the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will ultimately make the decision as to whether a newly-constructed 27th Street will feature roundabouts, the committee's chairman, Franklin Alderman Steve Olson, hoped to bring to the Oak Creek and Franklin Common Councils a recommendation that they endorse via resolution the installation of roundabouts (resolution language after the jump).

I attended the meeting in order to comment in support of roundabouts on 27th; my experience discussing them with my colleagues on the Economic Development Commission convinced me that many of Franklin's decision makers were approaching the issue on a purely intuitive level (my recording of the discussion features Alderman [and EDC chairman] Ken Skowronski stating: "Roundabouts are a disaster.") rather than based on hard facts and real data.

I needn't have worried. At the direction of the the Joint 27th Street Steering Committee, HNTB, construction and design consultant for Oak Creek and Franklin, prepared a roundabout-vs.-intersection report to facilitate the discussion (Download HNTB Roundabout Report pdf).

Any points I made in my comments to the Steering Committee were only amplified by the HNTB report - - and then further amplified by Franklin's city engineer Jack Bennett in his pro-roundabout comments. Click on the summary page below to enlarge:

While the points above are discussed at much further length in the actual report, this evaluation matrix is a pretty powerful statement in support of roundabouts on 27th Street.

And that's even before the introduction of mitigating information provided by the two HNTB consultants as they discussed the document: It turns out that the only "non-up" arrows on the matrix in the roundabout column could easily be changed to "up" arrows; HNTB admitted that they were extremely conservative in their measurements for "Construction Costs," "Aesthetics," and, particularly, "Community Acceptance." (They went so far as to suggest changing the direction of these arrows, but Chairman Olson did not want to compromise their report).

After fruitful discussion, the Franklin-Oak Creek Joint 27th Street Steering Committee unanimously voted to recommend to the Common Councils of their respective cities that they pass a resolution in favor of roundabouts on 27th Street.

Oak Creek will vote on it at their next meeting; in Franklin, however, the item was removed from this Tuesday's agenda. 

In Part 2 of this post, I'll discuss that removal and the "Community Acceptance" aspect of roundabouts. I'll also address the need to exercise some real leadership in reassuring the electorate that the benefits of properly designed roundabouts are beyond the realm of THEORY, and that they are in fact safer, more economical, provide faster transit, and will drive economic development more effectively than intersections. 

And there will be charts and graphs ....

Regret in the suburbs? Killing a fly with a sledgehammer will have consequences

Judge finds city's sick leave mandate unconstitutional - JSOnline.

So, the rush by Milwaukee suburbs to enact cynical "blocking" ordinances to isolate the City of Milwaukee after voters passed a sick leave rule was for naught - - as I tried to warn Franklin's Economic Development Commission when the proposed ordinance came up for discussion.

Just couldn't wait for a ruling that was pending while these ordinances were under discussion, so now Franklin and quite a few other "proactive" suburbs have versions of the following sweeping language on the books:

No ordinance of the City of Franklin or any other municipal ordinance, rule, or regulation shall require that any private employer provide particular wages or benefits to its employees or set forth the amount or type of any employee wage or benefit provided an employee working within the City or doing business with the City, except as may be required by another governmental agency funded project, such as the Community Development Block Grant program or the like, or by way of State or Federal statute or administrative code or rule.”

The electorate is stripped of one more citizen action tool that it may need more than ever as we navigate an unprecedented economic storm.

Collaboration between HUD and DOT: The start of something big

Citiwire.net » Agencies Collaborating: Affair of the Year.

Column by Neal Peirce on groundbreaking collaboration between HUD and DOT - - a situation that has yet to make an impression on most of my Economic Development Commission collegues:

In Chicago, there’s rejoicing in the offices of a scrappy 30-year old research and advocacy group, the Center for Neighborhood Technology–a pioneer in demonstrating how residents’ combined housing and transportation costs can be reduced in transit-served neighborhoods. It’s a “new day in Washington,” exult leaders Scott Bernstein and Kathryn Tholin, as CNT research and ideas area are poised to be “incorporated into the framing of the Obama administration’s urban policy.”

But critical tests loom on how quickly the new approaches are grasped and implemented through the ranks of the HUD and DOT bureaucracies, contends public administration expert Kent Watkins, a key promoter of the new approach. He notes that multi-billion dollar initiatives, including at least $8 billion for DOT and $9 billion in HUD stimulus spending, are currently “going out the door” without instructions to put a premium on joint transportation and housing initiatives.

But focus on reform will keep building this year with debate on reauthorization of the federal government’s basic transportation program. And even AASHTO–the American Assn. of State Highway and Transportation Officials, historically known as the “big roads” crowd–is making new moves. It wants to double–to $100 million a year–a decade-old federal initiative, DOT’s Transportation, Community and System Preservation Program, to help states and local governments accomplish “smarter growth,” more compact development.

And why? “States now recognize that sprawl–the cost of the current system–will eat us alive,” says AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley. He wants to see the DOT program enlarged with expanded incentives for local and regional bodies to come up with smart combined land use-transportation solutions.

The bottom line’s clear: albeit with fits and starts, radical change is brewing in how Washington impacts growth and development of America’s communities.

The New Shape of Office Space | Planetizen

The New Shape of Office Space | Planetizen.

"Coworking is rapidly emerging as a meme for the reorganization of knowledge work among entrepreneurs, programmers, writers and even, as we learned during our visits, sustainable furniture designers. The majority of discussions of the social implications of the Internet on the evolution of work and cities revolve around concepts such as the virtual office, online collaboration, and telecommuting. But, coworking communities (and related phenomenon that have grown out of the culture of the open source movement such as MeetUps and BarCamps) illustrate the ways in which these emergent forms of organizing are deeply embedded in physical places and, at the same time, enabled by new technologies such as laptops and wireless networks.

As the material artifacts of offices – messages, documents, photos and plans - are digitized and stored on servers, physical spaces have the potential to become increasingly open, flexible and sharable. Data security concerns aside, one can imagine a future scenario when most of the tools that we need to work effectively will be accessed and stored in “the cloud”. This allows the dynamic reorganization and co-location of people, firms and activities that have been separated since the early days of industrialization, the advent of the hierarchical firm and the rise of cities themselves. For example, an office building might house a conference room that doubles as an entertainment room for the co-located apartments. Such arrangements will require new ways of thinking about private and semi-private spaces, trust and security, and ownership and property."

A step in the right direction in Franklin: Could never have happened with the previous Common Council

There is much to write about last night's Common Council meeting regarding adding a connective emergency road to the street in front of Pleasant View Elementary school (which has had nothing but a single, narrow, shoulder-less road available for entry for 45 years). 

Even after talking to Alderman Steve Olson at length about his opinion that a connective road - no sidewalk -  should be added that sends traffic eastward (marked "east" above) through Hillendale subdivision and eliminates an existing walking and biking path, I simply could not fathom the reason he and Alderman Lyle Sohns (particulary Sohns, whose motivations escape me; let's call it "Sohns' Folly") were so hell-bent on such an illogical, destructive, and ultimately redundant plan (since the city's long range plan and goal is to send the road westward to 51st Street).

Frankly, after hearing their arguments last night, I'm still mystified. There was a point where Olson was seconding a motion by Sohns before Sohns had verbalized - or indeed constructed - a motion!

I also have to say this: In listening to the tape, it must be noted that Alderman Kristen Wilhelm did an absolutely excellent job for her constituents, having done her homework to the extent that she could parse the city engineer's somewhat cryptic "no we can't" statements into a far different "it makes no difference whether we go east or west." She was tenacious and would not be dissuaded from pursuit of the proper outcome (and blessed avoidance of "Sohns' Folly").

The mayor showed real leadership in surrendering the gavel (as procedurally required) to speak his mind and cut to the chase, crafting a satisfying solution.

More later, but in the meantime here are my remarks made during the public comment period, during which many residents of Hillendale also spoke:

My daughter goes to Pleasant View Elementary. I'm missing her softball game tonight to read these pages to you because I’m very disturbed by the manner with which the city is approaching this issue.

Short-term expediency is trumping safety as well as any sense of long-term vision. I certainly don’t see this as consistent with the newly ratified Franklin Mission Statement, unless the phrase “when in doubt, do the easier thing” was snuck in at the last minute.

Regarding the Pleasant View Road Extension, the council packet contains FOUR SHEETS OF PAPER - NO schematic.

Here are some questions to ask ourselves that probably should have been addressed in the packet:

Where are the counts of pedestrians and bikes that currently use the “goat path” to Hillendale subdivision every day?

How many kids WILL NOT be allowed to walk or bike once it becomes a vehicular throughway? I can tell you one won't; my daughter's friend Maddie won't be able to walk home anymore. Her parents say that's the way it is.

Consequently, how many vehicles does that add to the daily mix that weren’t there before?

Where are the current Summer-vs-School Year traffic count graphs for Minnesota Ave., W. Madison Avenue, S. 46th, and Hillendale Drive?

Where are the bus counts that determine how many currently go north on 46th Street and how many turn West on West Madison Ave.?

Where is the schematic of the possible road?

What was the opinion of the Plan Commission? They evidently were not asked to weigh in.

Has there been a meeting of Pleasant View and Hillendale parents regarding their opinion on this? I've not heard of one.

And - - - No mention of the “sidewalk issue.”

The fact is: WHERE ONCE THERE WAS A SAFE WALKWAY - a neighborhood amenity - THERE WILL NOW BE VEHICULAR TRAFFIC AND NO SIDEWALK, just a painted line four feet from the curb.

To repeat: The “solution” proposed here is to remove a safe walking path, paint a white line four feet from the edge of a street, and some sort of force field will keep our kids safe. And we'll pay about $100,000 for the privilege.

If that’s a solution, I don't know what got solved?

The Hillendale road network, like most modern subdivisions, is built SPECIFICALLY - and deviously - to discourage thru-traffic. Yet the plan is to send traffic THROUGH that subdivision.

On the other hand, 49th Street currently carries traffic and buses daily; extending west wouldn’t change that.

This plan is going out to bids, and then it’s off to the races - there is a calendar for August completion - but there are no engineering drawings in the packet from which to determine whether the plan is viable. There is no discussion of the westward option THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE CITY’S LONG RANGE PLAN.

Absent any hard data or input from professionals, the common council is apparently relying on INTUITION to determine the best route, and INTUITION is notoriously untrustworthy.

Regarding a situation that is of vast importance to an entire subdivision and the parents of a school-full of kids, there has been no public hearing on this.

If Alderman Wilhelm’s "Item 1." regarding exploration of a WESTWARD route to 49th Street is ignored, you will indeed send a project out to bid and start a tight clock without having investigated all options.

I’m told that "maybe later" we’ll run the road WEST as per the city’s long-range plan and common sense  - - - thereby DOUBLING our expenditure because we were in a hurry to put in the EXPEDIENT, SHORT TERM FIX.

On the other hand, go WEST to 49th Street - - spend a little more NOW - - and you can leave the eastbound path as it is and should be.

Save money, maintain an amenity, and conform to a long term vision. Sounds like PLANNING to me ...

Alderman Sohns assured David Works, the Chairman of the Franklin School District’s Buildings and Grounds Committee, via email TODAY that he would hold off on any official action until they could meet on the issue on June 17th. The issue remains on the agenda tonight.

When I talked to David Works this afternoon, he said “He couldn’t find anyone in the School District who is suddenly is in any hurry to get a road extension done this summer.” I have his cel number - - you are welcome to call him.

This school has faced this poorly planned configuration for 45 years - to cite URGENCY now is fairly disingenuous.

The qualifier “potentially in addition” when referring to a westward extension to 49th Street should be REMOVED from the council action; the 49th Street extension should be given equal - - if not PRIMARY - - status. When the right information is available, the choice will be clear.

I urge this council to kick expediency to the curb and instead make our kids’ safety and this city’s long-term excellence the main goals - even if SAFETY and EXCELLENCE make the task somewhat HARDER to accomplish.

Franklin's Common Council is poised to defy logic and geometry

I've been out of town and unable to give this issue the attention it deserves:

On the agenda for the Tuesday, June 2nd Common Council Meeting is a discussion of FINALLY adding a logical (and safer) additional connection to Pleasant View Elementary, whose single-access problems and defiantly disconnected roads have been documented in this space frequently. (Like HERE)

Once again, it appears something odd might sneak through Franklin's Common Council: Instead of running a road out to 51st street - the shortest, direct route - there appear to be Council members who, for whatever reason, want to create a connective street that runs through the winding, residential Hillendale subdivision. AND it would eliminate a currently-used pedestrian path improvised by students and parents who - gasp - walk and/or bike to school!

At one point (given the current horrendous situation pictured above) I was relieved to hear of any relief road, even one that went to Hillendale - - before I learned that there was/is no real obstacle in going west to 51st, a route that doesn't go in the wrong direction and doesn't barrel through residential streets.

It's just plain odd that the Hillendale route is being considered at all, much less without without traffic studies, etc. And, frankly - suspicious. Unless I suddenly hear about a gas line that can't be crossed, private property that needs to be condemned, or a Native American burial mound that is in the right-of-way to 51st, this smells of old scores being settled and petty politics trumping the safety of the children who attend Pleasant View.

Furthermore, a new church is being built right in line with a connective road to 51st Street! While the church certainly should not be responsible for the cost of the road, the city of Franklin should use this opportunity to address a longstanding embarrassment and connect to 51st street. (As I understand it, the church is willing to give the city the right-of-way it requires.)

Pedestrian and bike-friendly Complete Streets in Franklin? It looks as though that's beyond our grasp, in spite of the fact that new home buyers desire walkable communities and will seek them out.

They will look elsewhere, I suppose. In Franklin, we apparently celebrate mediocrity.

There will be a normal out-of-context public comment period at the beginning of the meeting Tuesday night, but - as usual - no opportunity for citizens to dispute or question some of the convoluted logic that will surely be woven by certain council members as they defend feeding traffic into a residential subdivision that offers a winding route out to Rawson, while at the same time adding vehicular traffic to the foot path currently in place.

If past history is any indication, council members will deploy righteous indignation at the notion that they are giving safety short shrift. There will be scoldings of citizens who disagree. This is why people are reticent to voice their opinions.

Could there be a good reason NOT to extend a road west to 51st? Perhaps. But let's make sure to turn over every stone before creating another useless road.

Certainly, residents of Hillendale and parents of Pleasant View students should attend tonight's meeting and speak out nonetheless.

(More at Franklin Today and Bullseye, and FranklinNOW.)

3rd District Alderman Kristen Wilhelm sent the following to her constituents:

Dear 3rd District,

Many of you have voiced your opinion that if money needs to be spent by the city for an alternative access at Pleasant View School you would rather have Marquette go WEST to 51st rather than east to Hillendale. Your voice at the Council meeting this TUESDAY night may be your LAST CHANCE to give input on this issue.

The Hillendale road plan keeps changing in its use, size and cost. These changing plans are not being provided for public review and input. The outcome of this meeting will forever change your neighborhood, the woodland, the present (and only) pedestrian access to the school and how traffic will flow when the large vacant lands are developed near 51st.

The city uses traffic studies when they want to analyze safety or justify wider neighborhood roads, but no such study has been done on how the Hillendale connection will solve a traffic problem or provide a timely emergency access. 

When it comes to safety and the nearest location to the fire station, there is no denying the best route is WEST to 51st Street. The fire and police chief, and the alderman pushing hard to connect Hillendale, all confirm this. The mayor, planning and engineering staff, school members, aldermen and others also agree WEST will “eventually” be connected, yet no effort is being made toward this safer and less disruptive option. 

Sensible solutions always benefit from common input, which is yours to give now. If you believe your elected officials should show the full plans, research the safest option, consider future land use, traffic flow and neighborhood integrity please attend TUESDAY and/or contact the other decision makers on the Council. Please see the Council members contact information at www.kwilhelm.us on my website 'information' tab and the talking points below.

Your support is NEEDED & appreciated,

Talking points:

• It’s the most direct route for emergency services coming from the Drexel fire station.
• West provides buses a direct route to the school, limiting bus and car traffic through residential streets; including freeing W. Madison Ave, 46th and 49th.
• It maintains the present walking path and does not cause a secondary safety issue by mixing children who bike and walk with cars and buses.
• West straightens and improves the bus line-up area versus the short right angle turn at Hillendale.
• It avoids the need for future development to use 49th as a backdoor exit.
• West provides a very efficient, direct access for Princeton, Victory Creek and other residents, again freeing 46th, 49th and West Madison Avenue.
• It provides easterly residents a closer foot or bike access to the Oak Leaf Trail thereby limiting the travel distance on 51st St.
• It is simply the safer, better alternative that takes future needs into consideration and disrupts the least people.

Kristen Wilhelm
3rd District Alderman
City of Franklin
9229 West Loomis Road
Franklin, WI 53132
Home phone 414.423.1606
kwilhelm@franklinwi.gov
www.franklinwi.gov