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Roundabout may relieve crossroads

MENDON — The easiest way to get from here to there is to go round about.

That's at the heart of a State Department of Transportation plan to improve traffic flow and reduce accidents at the intersection of Clover Street (Route 65) and Rush Mendon Road (Route 251) in Mendon.

DOT officials propose redesigning the area into a circular intersection called a roundabout.

Although tens of thousands exist around the world, the United States only has a few hundred — about 12 of them in New York state, according to the DOT. But support for them is growing.

"I have seen that intersection get more and more congested and present more and more problems over the nearly two decades I've lived here," said Mendon Town Supervisor Morris "Moe" Bickweat. "It does present some hazards. There have been significant injuries."

Currently, the intersection is controlled by a two-way stop sign on Route 251 and flashing yellow lights on Route 65.

The project is in the preliminary design stage, said Daniel Schwind, project design engineer with the DOT's regional office in Henrietta.

After DOT officials get input at a public information meeting next month, work will begin on the final design. It is expected to be complete some time during the summer or fall of next year. Construction would begin in 2006 and take about one year to finish, Schwind said.

A roundabout would cost about $1 million in federal and state funds, Schwind said. Curves on the north and east legs of the intersection also would be improved.

Similar to a traffic circle, the roundabout differs in three key ways, according to the DOT:

• Vehicles entering the roundabout must yield to those already in the circular flow of traffic. The reverse is true for many traffic circles, and some have stop signs or signals.
• Vehicles traveling and entering the roundabout move at slow speeds (30 mph or less is considered the standard) compared with the high speeds characteristic of traffic circles.
• The roundabout design assures that there is sufficient room between vehicles traveling within the roundabout and those entering.

In response to accident statistics and requests by Mendon officials, the state DOT has been studying the Routes 65 and 251 intersection for a few years.

Other options considered included a four-way stop and installing a traffic signal. All except the roundabout were subsequently rejected as unfeasible for a variety of reasons, such as the severity of accidents might drop but not the number.

A DOT analysis of law enforcement agency accident reports in the project area between October 1996 and September 1999 showed that of 36 accidents, 14 were at the intersection. That was three times the statewide average.

The underlying cause was drivers on Route 251 failing to yield right of way to Route 65 motorists. Poor sight distance was the contributing factor.

About 5,000 vehicles per day travel Route 65, about 4,500 on Route 251 at the intersection, Schwind said.

DORMAN@DemocratandChronicle.com