PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release Friday June 22, 2007

Contact: Noel LaBine 763-477-3086

SEH Engineers present on Roundabouts for traffic control
at Economic Development Seminar on June 20th.

     

   

  The Wright County Economic Development Partnership held a noon Luncheon seminar on “Development in a Roundabout way” at the Silver Springs Golf Course on Wednesday, June 20 th . A buffet style lunch was provided to all the guests.

The presenters were Kate Miner and Tom Sohrweide, both engineers with Short Elliot & Hendrickson (S.E.H.). The topic was .about the use of Roundabouts for traffic control in both old and new developments. S.E.H was the exclusive Sponsor for the event.

  S.E.H. is the largest engineering firm in Minnesota that is headquartered in Minnesota with over 750 employees. They have offices in 8 states and work in many of the communities in Minnesota . One of the projects that they have worked on in Wright County is the I-94 access at Albertville .

   Kate Miner began the presentation with a clarification about the description of a Roundabout. She made it clear that these traffic control designs are not to be confused with traffic circles like the large one in Paris around the Arc de Triumph. Also, traffic calming circles are also sometimes confused with roundabouts. Next, Miner made it known that there are already about 27 roundabouts in place in Minnesota with several more being planned. There are some obvious reasons for the increased use of these designs. They decrease the amount of accidents, increase traffic flow, and they improve the aesthetics and access.

  The safety statistics for single lane roundabouts show that there is a 90% reduction in severe and fatal crashes, and a 50 to 70% reduction in property damage only crashes. Also, because of the islands that are designed in-between the lanes leading into a roundabout, pedestrians are in a safer zone for crossing the streets close to a roundabout. The pedestrian crossings are designed before the cars get to the vehicle yield zones, so they just have to be concerned about the pedestrians; thus directing more attention on the pedestrian.

   Tom Sohrweide , a principal at S.E.H., reviewed the results of some case studies that had been done in three states. In communities where they had been introduced for the first time, citizens voiced objections for the following reasons: they are confusing, they are new & different, and older drivers will have difficulty getting used to them. Studies show that before the roundabouts are built only 30% of the citizens favor them, but after 18 months 70 to 85% of the citizens favor them. These studies also reveal that there is very little approval difference by gender and age. Overall, the experience level reveals that people “now think they are pretty good and they like it.”

  One of the strongest and best uses of roundabouts is to get more flow out of a two lane road. By replacing stop signs and traffic control lights with roundabouts, traffic is able to flow much faster. For this reason several were installed in Utah before the Winter Olympics were there several years ago. The results were excellent. Another strong advocate of roundabout use are the fire departments. In Maplewood , the firemen prefer them, because they only have to be concerned about traffic movement in one direction when they go through this type of traffic controlled intersections.

  In closing the presenters made a strong case for the use of roundabouts, and with MNDOT promoting the use of them, look for more of them around the area in the future.

The Wright County Partnership's Development Series Luncheons are a great place to network with community leaders from Wright County and get first-hand information about various development activities. The discussions held at these events have been very valuable to developers, city representatives, and others. Future events are also being planned for July, October, & November.

  The Partnership exists to enhance the business climate of Wright County and to help create more jobs in Wright County . The strategies the Partnership uses to achieve its mission include being an information resource and finding technical assistance; aiding business development through Business Retention & Expansion visits, providing financing resources, and providing business information and training through seminars and workshops. Also, the Partnership markets Wright County to business site locators, and maintains an excellent website, which includes a listing of commercial and industrial property available in Wright County (see www.wrightpartnership.org ). The Partnership also assists with Workforce Development and has gathered economic statistical information, which is available on its website.