Having found success several years ago with a mini-roundabout at Park and Locust streets, S.E., the Vienna town government now would like to install one at another T-shaped intersection at Church and East streets, N.E.
The Vienna Town Council on May 6 voted 5-2 in awarding an up-to-$380,000 contract to Rummel, Klepper & Kahl LLP for design work associated with the mini-roundabout, which has been under consideration by the town since 2015.
The matter increased in urgency recently after a female pedestrian was struck by a vehicle at the intersection April 24. The pedestrian still is hospitalized, said Vienna Police Chief James Morris, who could not elaborate further on the accident because the investigation is ongoing.
The town’s Department of Public Works now will install stop signs at all three approaches to the intersection and keep them there until the roundabout is operational, officials said.
The Fairfax-based design firm will develop a design concept for the roundabout that results in minimal impact at the site and its environs. The contractor also will perform a traffic study, do a structural analysis for a bridge on East Street near the intersection, address Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) process requirements and perform right-of-way services, which are required for projects receiving state or federal funding.
The design firm also will do environmental and hydraulics designs and reviews, produce conceptual and final designs for the selected alternative, do a lighting study and lighting-design work, hold a public-engagement session, perform construction-cost estimates and provide bid assistance.
Council member Jessica Ramakis said she hoped the company could be persuaded to conduct more than one meeting with local residents. Vienna Public Works Director Brad Baer said he would inquire about that, but it might result in a slightly higher cost.
The design work will take up to two years to complete because the contractor will need to follow VDOT’s process and the project is technically complex, Vienna officials said. While Baer conservatively estimated construction might take an additional year to complete, Council members were hopeful the project could be finished sooner.
A preliminary sketch for the project shows crosswalks at all three approaches to the roundabout, which would cross through raised “splitter islands” that would narrow the roadway to slow down motorists and provide a measure of safety for pedestrians using the crosswalks.
Baer displayed diagrams showing how roundabout have fewer potential vehicle-conflict points than T- or X-shaped intersections and no places where vehicles would cross in opposing directions.
Learning from lessons at the comparatively dark-at-night Park/Locust roundabout, the Church/East version will be well-lighted, he said.
Several Council members said they hoped additional signage and other visual measures could be implemented to alert motorists to the possibility of encountering pedestrians at the roundabout.
The town will finance the mini-roundabout’s design work entirely from state and regional sources.
The design contract passed on a 5-2 vote, with Baldwin and Council colleague Sandra Allen voting nay. Baldwin questioned the project’s expense and construction impacts on the surrounding neighborhood. All-way-stop signage likely could accomplish the same objectives for less money, he said.
Mayor Linda Colbert quoted Federal Highway Administration information stating that roundabouts improve safety, promote lower traffic speeds, calm traffic, reduce conflict points and vehicle emissions, improve operational performance and may be implemented under a wide range of traffic conditions because of their versatility.
Brill, who travels through the intersection regularly, touted safety as a major reason for his vote.
“I am convinced I’m going to witness a bad accident there,” he said. “To me, there’s no price upon public safety.”
Both the current Park/Locust mini-roundabout and the future one at Church/East streets are in locations one block off Maple Avenue that see plenty of cut-through traffic from motorists seeking to skirt Vienna’s main commercial thoroughfare.
