Traffic roundabout proposed for south Fort Collins

By Dan MacArthur
Fossil Creek Current

An increasingly active southeast Fort Collins intersection may become the site of the city's first arterial-scale roundabout.

City Council on May 3 will consider a staff recommendation to construct the roundabout at the intersection of Ziegler and Kechter roads.

While personally skeptical, newly elected Mayor Doug Hutchison pledged that he and the council will consider the proposal with an open mind. "We just have to look at it very carefully," he said.

Council review of roundabouts proposed for arterial streets was required following a controversial effort four years ago to construct one at the intersection of Mulberry Street and Lemay Avenue. City Council approved that proposal over strong public protests. However, after 16 months of planning and spending $700,000 in design and right-of-way costs, the project was abandoned when construction bids came in more than $1 million over the $3.4 million estimated cost.

But Ron Phillips, executive director of Fort Collins Transportation Services, said the roundabout now under consideration is much less elaborate than the earlier plan. It calls for a single traffic lane rather than the three proposed at Mulberry and Lemay.

"I think it would be a good way for the community to experience a roundabout on a smaller scale," he said.

Traffic engineer Eric Bracke concurred the new nearly $350,000, 130-foot diameter roundabout likely will be met with much greater support and enthusiasm. "All the new neighborhoods are coming in with roundabouts," he said. "They're popping up everywhere."

The roundabout proposed at Ziegler and Kechter, Bracke said, is distinguished from those smaller ones by its location at the intersection of two minor arterial streets - triggering the council review.

Bracke said the recommendation for a roundabout followed an extensive analysis taking into account cost, safety and traffic delays. "Based on it all, the roundabout was the top choice," he said.

"The data is very compelling," said Phillips. Roundabouts, he said, offer greater mobility, less congestion and fewer accidents. They have been used successfully in Loveland and Greeley recently, according to Phillips.

Traditional intersections typically require stop signs or traffic signals and often include additional turn lanes that can result in a wider intersection. The Kechter and Ziegler intersection is currently controlled by stop signs. Without the roundabout, Phillips said, traffic signals eventually would be required to deal with the peak-period traffic created by four schools in the immediate area.

In contrast, roundabouts can provide for more fluid flow, according to Bracke. "They're easier to drive," he maintained.

In a roundabout, traffic always moves in a counter-clockwise direction. Vehicles already within the roundabout have the right-of-way. Drivers should look both ways, yielding to pedestrians and bicyclists before entering. They then look left for oncoming traffic, entering when safe. The speed within the roundabout would be limited to 20 miles an hour.

If approved by the council, Phillips said plans call for the roundabout to be built in the summer of 2006 and completed by that fall in time for the opening of Kinard Junior High School.