For an introduction to the issues of the double-roundabout design, see these articles from February 2024:
Part 1 – Sunset and LK Wood / Highway 101 roundabouts — Where are the bike lanes?
Part 2 – Sunset and LK Wood / Highway 101 roundabouts — Will this work? Is this safe?
Part 3 – Sunset and LK Wood / Highway 101 roundabouts — Letter to the City Council
Is this safe?
The City of Arcata, working with designs from the contracted engineering firm GHD, has come up with roundabout ideas for the Sunset – Highway 101 interchange.
But is this safe? You can look and you decide.
Bicyclists and Pedestrians cross traffic lanes too many times
Suppose a bicyclist or pedestrian is traveling south on L.K. Wood Boulevard and wants to go west on Sunset Avenue — to go to the skateboard park, to the new Open Door Clinic, or to the sports fields, or to Westwood Market, or to their home on the west side of Highway 101.
Yellow arrows are the proposed combined and shared Class I bike/pedestrian path. As planned, the pathway is 10 feet wide — for bike and pedestrian traffic in both directions.
The pedestrian has one option. The yellow arrows in these images shows their route. The bicyclist has a choice. They can go on the shared bike/pedestrian pathway (the yellow arrows) or they can go into the traffic of the two roundabouts (the red arrows).
To repeat: Is this safe?
The east roundabout. The bicyclist or pedestrian crosses a traffic lane in 5 places. A bicyclist taking the red-arrow route merges with motor vehicle traffic on the roundabout and crosses over the lane that goes to the 101-North on-ramp, crosses the bridge, then crosses over the lane that goes to the 101-South on-ramp, and crosses two lanes of traffic coming off of the 101 Sunset exit.
And on the west side, another roundabout with another 5 traffic lane crossings for the yellow arrow route.
What is wrong with this design
- It is a car-centric design. Cars have a strong priority.
- Pedestrians and bicyclists rely upon push-button operated flashing yellow warning lights, so that motor vehicles will stop and allow them to cross.
- I understand that the physical space is constricted, we want to keep the cars moving and not have stop signs, etc. But in the current stop-sign configuration, at least the cars and trucks and buses come to a complete stop where pedestrians want to cross.
- Bicyclists can ride in the roadway — with vehicles that are just coming off Highway 101 or ready to get on it — or can ride on Class I bike paths — 10 feet wide and shared with pedestrians. In a low-volume location this maybe could work, but not here. This area has too many bikes and too many walkers for this to be feasible here.
- Cars just exiting the off-ramps are likely going too fast. Drivers will tend to be looking ahead to the roundabout circle — not looking on the side for pedestrians and bicyclists. There are ten of these pathway crossings.