By Brittany Anderson
A few more roundabouts might be in the cards for Kyle, but studies must be conducted first in order to determine if they are the most effective option.
During the March 1 Kyle City Council meeting, the city council unanimously approved a task order for a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) regarding the installation of roundabouts or traffic signals at the intersection of Kohler’s Crossing and Marketplace Avenue, Kohler’s Crossing and Kyle Crossing, and on Dacy Lane connecting Downing Way and Fountain Grove Drive.
Additionally, the Dacy Lane project is slated to include the installation of a 12-foot wide illuminated sidewalk along Dacy Lane from Kyle Parkway to Bebee Road.
Leon Barba, city engineer, said that per city ordinance, a traffic report that looks at both the use of a roundabout or a traffic signal must be conducted. The intent, he said, is to have the consultant conduct the report and come back to council with a recommendation, whether it’s for a roundabout or traffic signal. If council approves the recommendation, the city will move forward with that option.
“We’ve asked the consultant to look at both intersections and see if it's possible to put a roundabout there,” Barba said. “If it's determined because of the topography or type of traffic we have there [it’s not feasible], we’re going to switch over to a traffic signal. Then they’ll look at what it will take to put that in.”
The PER for the Kohler’s Crossing roundabouts will cost around $54,100, while the PER for the Dacy Lane roundabout and sidewalk project will cost around $56,500. The costs include basic services and route and design fees, and funding is available in the approved capital improvements project (CIP) budget for Fiscal Year 2021-2022.
“I’ve previously spoken to council member Tobias about creating an exclusionary list of areas that we would never put a roundabout,” Flores-Cale said, saying that one of her main concerns with a roundabout at the Kohler Crossing and Kyle Crossing intersection is the Amazon Warehouse is nearby, meaning large Amazon trucks drive through every day, as well as it being a high walking and biking area.
“The issue is we have all that development coming up, so we need to do the study sooner rather than later,” Barba said. “We anticipate traffic patterns will change there significantly with Marketplace coming in and getting built and will create a lot of traffic through that intersection. This [report] will give us the direction we need to move forward.”
Regarding the Dacy Lane roundabout, council member Michael Tobias said that he figured a roundabout would not have been considered due to the amount of traffic that comes down Dacy Lane and the speed at which cars go, and questioned if a traffic signal would be more beneficial.
“Is a roundabout really suitable for this place?” Tobias said, adding that large trucks carrying manufactured homes often go through the area for the Lakeside Crossing neighborhood off of BeBee Road.
Barba told council that traffic counts will be conducted in the area and that the roundabout, if proposed, would be at the intersection of Downing Way and Dacy. At the entrance of Fountain Grove, other alignments would be made to allow the homes to be easily transported through. Barba also assured council that he would make sure a traffic signal study would be conducted as well.
Flores-Cale, however, said her fear with a roundabout is that the area is a “high pedestrian way” for little kids walking to and from Science Hall Elementary School. Barba said that roundabouts can be designed to address pedestrian traffic and that recently adopted guidelines explain how to address these issues, but that the consultants would be made aware of the concerns.
“The only thing you would be concerned about is trying to put two traffic signals that close on Fountain Grove and Downing Way; that would be a problem,” Barba added.
The motion to approve the task order for the PER for this project carried 6-1 with Flores-Cale voting nay.
