GREENFIELD — Greenfield’s Board of Works approved funding Oct. 24 for a study to determine the potential need for roundabouts at some of the city’s most traveled intersections.
City engineer Jason Koch said the study — which is to cost no more than $70,600 — will be conducted by the Indianapolis engineering and architectural firm Burgess & Niple.
The firm includes members who were previously employed by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), which Koch said would come in handy since two of the proposed intersections are within INDOT’S jurisdiction — where Ind. 9 intersects with New and McKenzie roads.
The other intersections being studied include three other points along New Road — at Blue Road, Meridian Road and Broadway Street — and the intersections of Davis and Franklin roads and McKenzie Road and Jaycie Phelps Drive.
Koch said construction of future roundabouts could potentially be paid for by the road impact fees passed by Greenfield’s city council in June, which will charge developers a fee starting Jan. 1 based on the number of projected trips their developments will generate each day.
“The impact fees we collect from each developer will go into a pot of money we can then use for road and intersection improvements,” said the engineer.
“What we’re doing with this preliminary engineering report is setting ourselves with more knowledge about these eight intersections that we’ve identified to take a look at, to make better informed decisions, as we proceed forward with future funding on these intersection designs,” he said.
Koch said Burgess & Niple started work on the study Oct. 26.
In a letter he shared with the Board of Works, Koch said the preliminary engineering reports will help the city prioritize projects by estimating the cost of necessity in each area.
“Basically, we’re trying to figure out if we place roundabouts at each of these eight intersections, what their initial cost estimates are, what the utility impacts are, what the right of way acquisitions are,” he said.
“These reports will also help us be more competitive in future calls for projects that leverage state or federal funding and/or partnerships with INDOT, and will set us up for success moving forward with approaching various grants.”
While there’s not set schedule for bringing more roundabouts to Greenfield, Koch said the study is a necessary first step to addressing the increasing amount of traffic on city roads.
“The benefits of living in Greenfield aren’t a secret anymore, so we’re anticipating the growth that comes with that. We want to make sure that we’re ahead of the growth so we can be successful in accommodating that growth and making sure the community stays happy and healthy,” he said.
Koch said the report will be a preliminary step to any design or construction work that may take place in the future.
“There will be some utilities we’ll need to relocate and land that we’ll have to acquire, so it will be an in-depth process,” he said. “It will take a year or two or even three to probably start collecting funds for the road impact fees to get to a level where we can fund that full-blown construction.”
Board of Works member Kathy Locke said she’s happy to see the city addressing the increasing traffic congestion that goes hand in hand with ongoing growth.
Unfortunately I don’t think we can stop the growth (in Greenfield), so we need to look at how we can manage it the best we can,” she said.
While she acknowledged that roundabouts can take some getting used to, they are proven to slow down traffic at key intersections, she said, and public safety is what it’s all about.
Locke also feels the city can take on more roundabouts while still maintaining its small town charm.
“I feel like at this point Greenfield is almost a tale of two cities. You have the downtown with the small town feel and you go up on State Road 9 and it’s becoming very much a commercial section of town, with all the hotels, restaurants, gas stations and service-types of businesses there. It’s really almost like two different places,” she said.
The City of Greenfield is paying for a study to assess how roundabouts could impact traffic flow at eight major intersections:
New Road & McKenzie Road
New Road & Blue Road
New Road & Meridian Road
New Road & Broadway Street
New Road & State Road 9
McKenzie Road and State Road 9
McKenzie Road & Jaycie Phelps Drive
Davis Road & Franklin Road
