A roundabout is one option to fix an intersection familiar to Mount Vernon-Lisbon area drivers.
At the Oct. 20 meeting of the Linn County Board of Supervisors, the Iowa DOT presented information about the possibility of a roundabout at the intersection of Hwy. 13 and Mount Vernon Road, just west of Mount Vernon.
The presentation was given by Tim Simodynes of the Iowa DOT’s Office of Traffic and Safety of Ames. Accompanying Simodynes were Cathy Cutler and James Schnoebelen of the Iowa DOT District 6 Highway Office.
Linn County District 2 supervisor Linda Langston said the presentation outlined the history of the challenging Hwy. 13 and Mount Vernon Road intersection, which is frequently backed up during peak travel hours and has a high volume of serious crashes. It is currently a four-way stop.
Simodynes presented information from a draft version of a Traffic Engineering Assistance Program (TEAP) study, which looked at the option of a roundabout for the intersection. Simodynes presented figures showing that signalization of other Hwy. 13 intersections at Hwy. 100 and Hwy. 151 had not shown an appreciable decrease in the volume or severity of crashes.
One of the impacts this could have is on funding alternatives for improving the intersection. It is possible, according to Simodynes, that Traffic Safety Improvement Program (TSIP) funds would not be awarded to a signalization project at the intersection given the data on the other signalized intersections. A roundabout may, at least in terms of TSIP money, be more readily funded.
Langston said a concern she shared with other supervisors was the speed of vehicles approaching the roundabout. With motorists approaching the intersection at highway speeds, the unusual nature of a roundabout would, at least in the initial adoption phase, require the use of “some type of flashing lights and signage to alert people to the roundabout,” according to Langston.
A second concern for Langston is the potential unpopularity of the roundabout option. Langston cited the 2007 controversy of a roundabout at the intersection of Boyson and Robins Roads as something important for elected officials to bear in mind.
Langston said that while the board of supervisors “has not had the conversation” about how to proceed yet, a decision on the issue could come as soon as the end of this year.
The problem of a backed up and sometimes dangerous state highway intersection potentially being addressed with a roundabout might sound familiar to Mount Vernon and Lisbon residents.
A 2006 TEAP study on the intersection of Hwys. 1 and 30 examined a roundabout option for many of the same reasons.
That TEAP study was recently submitted with a grant application to another Iowa DOT grant program. The roundabout option hasn’t died in the public discourse, with Mount Vernon City Council member Scott Peterson asking for an update on the roundabout option at a recent council meeting.
By Matthew Brown
Source: The Sun