GDOT Wants Walton County to Weigh in on a Roundabout in Bold Springs, Ga.

So what do you think about this roundabout in Walton County? The Georgia Department of Transportation is asking for citizen input on the idea.

The proposed roundabout would be in Bold Springs at the intersection of State Route 81 and Bold Springs Road. An improvement to this intersection was on the project list of the TSPLOST referendum that voters failed to pass in November last year.

GDOT defines a roundabout as a circular intersection where traffic flows around a center island. In recent years, more state departments of transportation have adopted roundabouts as an alternative form of traffic control. According to GDOT, not only are roundabouts the safest form of traffic control available, "they are also cheaper, more efficient, have a higher traffic capacity and can be attractively landscaped."

Teri Pope, a spokesman for GDOT, said a roundabout was considered for this location because of the need to carry more vehicles more efficiently through the intersection.
 
"GDOT is reviewing roundabouts at many locations statewide," Pope said. "Roundabouts allow more continuous traffic flow than an all way or four way stop."

According to an article on Gwinnett Forum when Duluth was considering a roundabout, the circulating movement of modern roundabouts significantly cuts down on the potential for high-speed, right angle and left turn/head-on collisions as well as rear-end collisions. The National Cooperative Highway Research Program conducted before-after studies at 55 intersections with roundabouts. They found that roundabouts produced:

• 35 percent overall decrease in crashes
• 76 percent decrease in injury crashes
• 81 percent decrease in fatal/incapacitating crashes for single lane urban roundabouts

The roundabout in the city of Duluth that was opened in June last year was the third one in Gwinnett at that time.

According to a press release from GDOT, the Open House meeting is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 11 at Walker Park Elementary School in the cafeteria. The School is located at 353 Carl Davis Road in Monroe.

There will not be a formal presentation, but Georgia DOT engineers and consultants will be on hand to answer any questions and discuss the proposed roundabout. After that, plans and handouts can be viewed at the Georgia DOT Area Office located at 450 Old Hull Road in Athens or at the District Office located at 2505 Athens Highway in Gainesville. At that time project information also will be available on the DOT website www.dot.ga.gov. On the home page choose “Information Center” then Public Outreach” and select the project’s county and choose “Go.”  A list of active DOT projects in that county will appear.
 
Anyone unable to attend the public information open house may send comments on the project to Glenn Bowman, State Environmental Administrator – Georgia DOT, 600 West Peachtree Street, 16th Floor, Atlanta, Georgia 30308.  All comments will be considered in the development of the final project design and must be received by April 23. Comments can be faxed to 404-377-9091 or emailed to Hansen-dederick@sycamoreconsulting.com.

Do you think a roundabout will improve the traffic flow at the intersection of State Route 81 and Bold Springs Road?