Legislators, concerned residents, and county officials discussed plans to begin a two-year construction project of a roundabout at the intersection of Fuller Road and the Washington Avenue Extension at a public information hearing on Thursday, June 26.
The public information meeting focused on two separate plans to improve traffic conditions. The first plan, and the focus of the meeting, is the potential construction of the roundabout at the intersection. The second plan is a corridor project that would extend from Western Avenue to Central Avenue.
Plans to improve Fuller road, a county-controlled motorway, have been in the works for five years, said Michael V. Franchini, Albany County Department of Public Works commissioner.
`We tried to meet with the stakeholders to make sure we weren’t too off-base. We didn’t want to bring anything to the public that wasn’t feasible,` said Franchini.
The first project will cost $4.9 million. A federal fund would pay for $2 million, with the rest coming out of the county budget, according to a slideshow presentation shown at the meeting. The corridor plan will cost $12 million, all coming from the county.
Initial planning featured 14 alternatives for the intersection before the field was narrowed down to six.
`There were many alternatives considered, including some that make you drive on the opposite side of the road, which isn’t a great idea,` said Jeff Pangburn, an associate and project manager with Creighton Manning Engineering.
One even featured a bridge that overpasses the roundabout.
That bridge would hopefully serve to cut peak-hour traffic by 3,000 vehicles, or half, of the all traffic that uses that intersection during rush hour, Pangburn said.
An estimated 60,000 cars use the intersection each day, according to information provided at the event. The high volume of traffic has caused that intersection to have three times the state average of accidents per year.
A 2001 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows dramatic decreases in crashes, as well as injury accidents, in 23 U.S. intersections that converted to roundabouts. The study showed that all crashes dropped 39 percent, crashes with injury dropped 76 percent and serious or fatal crashes dropped 89 percent.
`The great thing about roundabouts is the slowing of speeds,` said Pangburn.
He also said there was a 45 percent reduction in pedestrian accidents.
Many attendees were concerned with the length of time it would take to complete the intersection project, and the inconvenience it would be while being built.
`It seems like they’re going to be taking a lot of time to study these alternatives — almost as much as the construction itself,` said resident Dave Keough, who attended the meeting.
He said he hopes the county analyzes the alternatives quickly and makes a decision.
If construction was to commence, many want to be sure the local residents are not left in the dark.
`We don’t have the connectivity along here, but that’s something we will need to work on,` said Liesse Mohr, who lives on Gipp Road in Guilderland and helped organize the public meeting.
She said she hopes a telephone tree or e-mail list could be started to help keep people in communication about traffic and construction updates.
A detailed design of the roundabout is expected to be finished by the end of winter this year. If all the designs are approved, then construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2009 and to be completed by the end of the fall in 2010.
`We’re trying to be honest. This is going to be a huge disruption for two years,` Franchini said.
Local businesses would also have to deal with the disruption Pangburn pointed out, but he emphasized the importance of not forgetting them if construction was to commence.
`We encourage you to still patronize those local businesses. Those people are our neighbors. Those people are our friends,` said Pangburn.
One local establishment’s president is supportive of the plans to construct the roundabout.
`I’m sure that all the research has been done, and they wouldn’t be spending two years and the money if it wasn’t warranted, said Lorie Meinker, president of Kurver Kreme, located on the corner of Central Avenue and Fuller Road.
The intersection would not be completely shut down if construction were to commence, though, Franchini said.
`Construction [workers] will be required to maintain one lane of traffic,` he pointed out.
Franchini also commented about the time of day the construction would take place.
`We looked at the possibility of night work. We decided early on we wouldn’t do any night work,` Franchini said. He noted there are two residential neighborhoods nearby.
A shuttle service that would ferry residents from the Harrimen Plaza to Stuyvesant Plaza and to Colonie Center is still being considered to help mitigate the inconvenience of construction.
`The further you provide a shuttle bus, the more expensive it is,` said Franchini.
Several legislators and local residents were glad to hear the prospect of a roundabout at the intersection, due its safe and free-flowing properties.
`I think it’s great. The number of cars is increasing as they build up that corner. They did a study on how many cars travel through there, and it’s a lot of vehicles. That’s going to increase as the build down there,` said County Legislator William M. Clay, D-Albany.
He pointed out the University at Albany Nanotech building will be a source of traffic as it expands.
Albany County Legislature Majority Leader Frank J. Commisso, D-Albany, said he is also on board with the idea of a roundabout.
`The ones in Slingerlands pretty much made a believer out of me,` said Commisso. `They’re much safer than I ever thought.`
Commisso also said they are discussing a Web site that could update traffic delays on a daily basis, once construction has begun.
The state Department of Transportation, federal highway commission, as well as the country Department of Public Works all have to sign off on a final plan before any actions can be taken.
Environmental concerns and cost need to be addressed by each of those entities as well, said Pangburn.“