Carpentersville Looks at Converting Old Town Intersection Into Single-Lane Roundabout
A Carpentersville planning group has recommended converting the intersection of Main Street and Washington Street in the village’s Old Town neighborhood into a single-lane roundabout.
In February, a working group staffed by planners representing Kane County, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and the village of Carpentersville released a Health Impact Assessment which recommended a single-lane roundabout as the design alternative resulting in the greatest health and safety outcomes for intersection users. A Health Impact Assessment is an evaluation process for identifying and mitigating negative health outcomes associated with a particular policy or action.
The planning cooperative‘s most-recent e-newsletter says the intersection experiences prolonged backups and congestion, particularly during peak travel hours. To address the issue, the project team organized a series of core stakeholder and public outreach activities to determine the concerns of various affected users of the intersection. Participants included pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, neighboring residents and employees.
The project team conducted independent research to evaluate health and safety-related outcomes associated with roundabout and signalized intersection designs. Findings from the study indicate that a single lane roundabout would provide better health and safety outcomes for users, particularly due to lower vehicle speeds and a reduction in the number of conflict points between motorists and pedestrians/cyclists.
The village of Carpentersville is working with engineering firm HR Green to further evaluate design alternatives for the intersection of Main and Washington. In December, HR Green presented design renderings and discussed alternatives during a meeting of the village trustees.
Conclusions
Overall, the impact of roundabouts on health and safety is positive. The safety of drivers dramatically increases when a signalized intersection or two-way stop is replaced with a roundabout, the study said. When converting a conventional signalized intersection to a roundabout, there is a 48 percent reduction in all crashes and a 78 percent reduction in severe crashes, including those that cause injury or death.
Converting a two-way stop to a roundabout (as would be the case at the intersection of Main and Washington) on average yields a 44 percent crash reduction overall and an 82 percent reduction in severe crashes.
About Carpentersville’s Old Town Area
Located in Kane County, the village of Carpentersville’s Old Town area has many historic strengths and community assets that provide a high quality of life for its residents, shoppers and employees. During peak hours, congestion near the intersection of Main Street and Washington Street in the Old Town Area causes traffic and safety problems for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists and nearby residents.
The intersection of Main Street and Washington Street resides within Carpentersville’s Old Town neighborhood corridor. The Old Town Plan describes the area as the historical center of the village with “access to the scenic Fox River, a walkable land use pattern, and attractive historic architecture.” Immediately north of the corridor resides a residential neighborhood consisting largely of single-family homes.
According to U.S. Census tract figures, roughly 500 residents live within a 1/4 mile distance from the intersection of Main Street and Washington Street.
Main Street is bisected by the Fox River Trail at a grade which runs along the east side of the Fox River. The cyclist and pedestrian trail is part of a larger network connecting Kane County Forest Preserve District lands and communities throughout the Fox River Valley. According to a report published by Trails for Illinois, the Fox River Trail in Carpentersville sees roughly 400 daily users during the summer and fall months. On weekends that number rises to about 600 users. The report estimates 119,013 cyclists and pedestrians use the Fox River Trail in Carpentersville annually.
Key Recommendations
Primary Recommendation: Conversion to single-lane roundabout
A single-lane roundabout constructed at the intersection of Main Street and Washington Street would result in better health and safety outcomes for affected area stakeholders while fulfilling transportation and mobility needs.
Secondary Recommendations
- High-visibility pedestrian crossings
- Installation of high visibility pavement markings (could include high- contrast pavement striping, brick pavers, or stamped pavement).
- Installation of a flashing light to indicate pedestrians and/or cyclists in the Fox River Trail crosswalk.
- Speed controls on Main Street and Washington Street
- Installation of a raised crosswalk for the Fox River Trail crossing.
- To the extent that conditions within the Main Street right of way allow, bump-outs should be installed to manage traffic speeds and shield pedestrians and cyclists at the Fox River Trail crossing.
- Posted speed limits should be clearly visible to vehicles approaching the project area along Main Street and Washington Street.
- Enhance active transportation infrastructure
- Pedestrian crossings serving the intersection of Main St. and Washington St. should incorporate a splitter island at each crossing.
- The village should consider the installation of directional signage or other wayfinding devices for the benefit of trail users and pedestrians/ cyclists within the Old Town corridor.
- The roundabout design and Fox River Trail crossing should include features to assist the visually impaired.
SOURCES: Carpentersville Health Impact Assessment document, Design Alternatives PDF and Kane County Planning Cooperative
