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KDOT Graphic
Wayne White | Managing Editor
LYNDON—Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) officials
are recommending the construction of a traffic roundabout at the
intersection of U.S. Highway 75 and state highways 31 and 268. The
recommendation, developed after an updated traffic study of the
intersection, was announced at a public officials’ meeting
held Sept. 29 at the Osage County Courthouse. The officials said
KDOT has funding available for high accident locations, but community
support for changes would be needed before a decision is made.
In a courtroom half-filled with local officials and citizens, KDOT
representatives reviewed the results of the study initiated after
an Aug. 11 accident at the intersection in which 16-year-old Kerensa
Ward was killed.
Brian Gower, KDOT’s state traffic engineer, explained the
results of the five-year accident study, saying KDOT was looking
for a pattern of crashes at the intersection to identify “longterm
options to reduce crashes or eliminate accidents at that intersection.”
“I really couldn’t find any distinct pattern of crashes,”
Gower said. “In looking at the accident report, I see crashes
all over the board.”
According to a KDOT collision diagram of accidents that occurred
from January 2004 through August 2009, one of the common causes
was driver inattention. During the time period studied, there were
24 accidents, 15 injuries and one fatality. The most common accidents
were angle and rear-end collisions.
Gower noted the intersection had traditional signage and additional
features such as rumble strips, large and left-side stop signs,
and flashing beacons on right-side stop signs.
“Many of the things there were probably to correct a pattern
of accidents,” Gower said.
It was noted that most of the additional features were added in
the 1980s in response to the number of accidents at the intersection.
Kansas Highway Patrol Captain Art Wilburn, Lyndon, said he was a
trooper when the safety features were added, and an immediate reduction
in accidents was evident until recent years.
“Whatever you do, you’re still going to have people
violating the law,” Wilburn said. He said he still notices
drivers making illegal right-hand turns onto U.S. 75, despite recent
removal of right-side paved shoulders on K-31 and K-268.
Wilburn said he liked the idea of a roundabout at the intersection.
“It forces people to slow down,” he said.
According to information provided by KDOT, roundabouts are used
throughout the U.S. to reduce crashes and are accepted as one of
the safest types of intersection design. Gower said recently constructed
roundabouts on U.S. Highway 50 have been working effectively. He
said features of roundabouts make intersections safer, specifically
split lanes, advanced signage, rumble strips, requiring drivers
to slow and yield to traffic inside the roundabout, and elimination
of possible contact points.
Gower said roundabouts change the type of accidents that happen,
also.
“If someone makes poor judgment, you’re talking about
side swipes and property damage” instead of injury or fatality
accidents, he said.
Opening the meeting to comments from the public, several people
questioned the use of roundabouts, including Osage County Commissioner
Mike Pruitt, who said Kansas City has been removing old roundabouts
due to the number of accidents.
“Roundabouts are really an effective way to handle traffic,
even in urban areas,” said Clay Adams, KDOT District 1 engineer.
Questioned about whether oversized loads could fit through a roundabout,
Adams noted the use of roundabouts on other major highways and said
large loads are considered when the intersections are designed.
“We are aware Highway 75 is used for what we call super loads,”
Adams said. “We would design for the largest load anticipated.”
He said that truckers are used to negotiating around curbs and obstacles
at intersections and a roundabout would have some of the same problems
such as trucks running over curbs.
Several members of the audience expressed a desire for the speed
limit to be lowered at the intersection, which is now posted at
65 mph.
Gower said many factors determine how fast people drive, with the
main influence being how comfortable drivers feel in the environment.
“Drivers are going to drive based on that environment,”
he said. “Another thing that influences speed of drivers is
how much of a break law enforcement will give them.”
He noted the speed study of the intersection indicated most drivers
are not speeding when they pass through. The study shows the median
speed of drivers at the intersection is 59.4 mph, and 85 percent
of drivers are traveling less than 66.4 mph. Decisions for setting
speed limits are based on the 85th percentile speed, which has been
determined as the speed where accident involvement is the lowest,
according to KDOT literature.
Making the intersection a four-way stop or installing a stoplight
was also suggested, but the officials discounted those as permanent
solutions.
“We don’t see a solution now of getting U.S. 75 to stop
where [drivers] haven’t stopped before,” Gower said.
“I can see a four-way stop as a short term solution to get
to a larger solution.”
He said placing stop signs on such highways usually results in an
increased number of rear-end crashes.
If a roundabout was approved, a four-way stop would likely be placed
at the intersection until construction was completed, Gower said.
The officials said KDOT has funds available for high-accident areas,
but the deputy secretary of transportation would make the final
decision on which projects would be funded. Community support could
influence that decision, they said.
“What we’d like to see is leadership in the community,”
Gower said, and KDOT officials would be talking with the county
commission and other local government entities to garner support.
Adams noted the intersection not only affected the closest town,
Lyndon, but also concerned drivers from other towns the highways
connect to. The support of those drivers was also encouraged.
“KDOT really does listen to citizens,” Adams said.
Several audience members expressed support for KDOT’s recommendation,
including county commissioners. During discussion at Monday’s
commission meeting, Osage County Commissioner Ken Kuykendall said
he did not like roundabouts, but thought they were effective.
“They make you slow down and think about what you’re
doing, which is what that intersection needs,” Kuykendall
said.
Commissioners recently instructed county counselor Delton Gilliland
to draft a letter expressing their support for changes at the intersection,
and the letter has been sent to a number of state officials. |
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