Easing traffic in a roundabout way
Engineer proposes circle-like intersection at Brookdale entrance
BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Middletown is considering installing a roundabout to reduce traffic and accidents in front of Brookdale Community College. Shown above is the entrance to the college along Newman Springs Road (Route 520.)

Whatever you do, don’t call it a circle. A roundabout, not a traffic circle, is being proposed at the intersection of Newman Springs Road (county Route 520) and College Drive at the entrance to Brookdale Community College, Middletown.

Now rapidly vanishing from the highways, traffic circles in the Garden State have become infamous, often associated with an impending sense of doom and gloom.

But according to Florida-based transportation engineer Michael J. Wallwork, there is nothing to fear from a roundabout.

Wallwork, along with Assistant Monmouth County Engineer Joseph Ettore, took part in a presentation at the Dec. 20 Middletown Township Committee meeting. The presentation explored the need for a roundabout at the intersection and calmed fears from residents by explaining the major differences between a roundabout and a traffic circle.

First, there’s the size.

“Traffic circles are three to four times larger than roundabouts,” said Wallwork, who added that with the smaller size, potential “conflict points” are reduced from 32 within a circle to eight inside a roundabout.

“The University of Maine did a study that shows there’s a 3 1/2 to 6 percent higher crash rate in a traffic circle,” said Wallwork.

There’s also a difference in speed. A roundabout forces drivers to slow down to approximately 15-20 mph, while a traffic circle typically sees speeds anywhere between 30 and 60 mph, according to Wallwork.

“Up in Massachusetts, around Cape Cod, I’ve gone through traffic circles at 45, 50 miles per hour and then exited at the same speed,” said Wallwork, who added that higher speeds can be intimating, especially for an older driver.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the two designs is that traffic within a roundabout has the right of way, meaning that upon entering, motorists yield to those already in the roundabout.

“In a traffic circle, sometimes you have to stop to let people in,” said Wallwork. “You’re king or queen of the roundabout.”

Although a price tag for the proposed county project wasn’t discussed at the meeting, Wallwork was firm in his belief that a roundabout will be cheaper to maintain than the existing traffic signal.

Wallwork was initially hired by the Lincroft Village Green Association (LVGA) last year to investigate alternative traffic designs for the intersection. After completing the roundabout proposal, Wallwork and Ettore met with Brookdale Community College officials and then the Township Committee, in search of approval for the plan.

Roger Foss, co-president of the LVGA, supports the roundabout plan.

“What’s the alternative?” asked Foss after the meeting. “We keep making wider lanes and more complicated turns with suicide lanes that pedestrians can’t cross? There’s no reason not to try it.”

Two years ago, the county had proposed widening the lanes on Route 520. More recently, the idea of a double jug handle was discussed. Residents of Route 520 and members of the LVGA were opposed to both ideas and instead sought out Wallwork in the hope of a more pedestrian-friendly design.

“We’re trying to restore some safe walking and bicycling conditions,” said Foss. “To do that, we have to be innovative.”

Committee members also voiced their support.

“Slowing down traffic to 20 mph, yet moving things through faster, it sounds wonderful,” said Mayor Joan Smith.

“The combination of yield signs, yellow crosswalks and physical [presence of the roundabout], all of these things may conspire to force New Jerseyans to yield,” commented Committeewoman Rosemarie Peters.

Still, some in attendance were not entirely convinced.

“Wasn’t there a reason why we got rid of these things?” asked one resident after the meeting.

Township engineers will now review the plan before the committee votes on a resolution stating their position on the roundabout. The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders will then choose a design, according to Ettore.