Engineers Present Traffic Circle Plans for Heathcote Five Corners

A traffic circle may ease congestion at Scarsdale's Heathcote Five Corners intersection, but it's not a done deal, nor close to one. Barriers to construction of a single lane circle include financing, public opposition and the necessity to acquire extra land to build the circle using eminent domain, if necessary.

Scarsdales' Municipal Services Committee met Monday night to hear representatives from the engineering firm Creighton Manning explain a proposed traffic circle at the heavilly congested intersection. Engineers Stephan W. Godlewski and Jeffrey W. Pangburn used slides and computer video traffic simulations to explain the benefits and drawbacks of a single lane traffic circle at the intersection.

It was the second such presentation.

According to the Creighton Manning representatives, a single lane traffic circle would ease congestion and waiting times for traffic in all directions, reduce serious accidents and provide aesthetic and environmental benefits. Traffic circles significantly reduce pedestrian crossing distances, as well.

The new traffic circle, according to a Creighton Manning document posted on the Village website, would reduce waiting time for vehicles at the intersection between 20 and 36 seconds, on average.

The plan, however, saw public pushback.

The proposal for the 105-foot traffic circle, large enough to pass fire trucks, buses and all but the largest semi tractor-trailers easily, would require building sidewalks onto privately owned properties, including that of Jonathon Lerner's Five Corners Real Estate. The Village would need approximately 600 square feet at the front of his property, among other spaces. Lerner contended at the meeting that the circle would interfere with both the entrance to his property and with parking nearby.

Planners admitted that at least four, and perhaps five, spaces would be lost in the new traffic scheme.

Citing Internet sources, Lerner also contended that traffic circles actually increase the number of accidents, while admitting that they reduce the number of serious accidents.

Creighton Manning's Pangburn explained that while this was possibly true of two lane traffic circles, single lane traffic circles, such as the one proposed at Five Corners, usually experienced lower accident rates overall, as well as significantly lower fatality rates.

The engineers were careful to differentiate between traffic circles, which feature speeds up to 40 mph, and roundabouts, which slow all traffic to 15-20 mph.

Small, single lane traffic circles feature a raised island in their centers, ramped "truck aprons" — raised roadways abutting the center island to accommodate larger trucks — special lighting, signage and streetscaping. Streetscaping can be either landscaping (plants) or "hardscaping" (fountains and statues).

According to Creighton Manning, a traffic circle similar to the one proposed at Five Corners was recently built in Glens Falls' downtown. The number of cars that pass through the intersection there increased from 1,900 an hour to 2,270 an hour, and the time cars spent waiting was reduced, on average, from 107 seconds per vehicle to 26 seconds. The traffic circle in Glens Falls was 117 feet in diameter, however, while the proposed circle is 105 feet.

A final sticking point — one that was not deeply discussed but that is obviously at the core of any consideration of new municipal construction — is who will pay the bill.

A traffic circle would cost around $2 million without considering purchase of the required properties and moving various lights and utilities. None of the financing is in place at this point. According to Deputy Village Manager Steve Pappalardo, an older plan, the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, set aside some money for a similar project, but that money is essentially unavailable.

The meeting ended with several members of the community, as well as Village Board of Trustees member Katherine Eisenman, asking about improving the intersection by using less expensive methods, such as inductance loop controls for existing signals.

"Can there be an improvement with a five figure solution instead of a seven figure solution?" she asked.

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