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Pact for design of traffic circle OK'd
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More from Conejo ValleyBoyle Engineering Corp. of Ventura will begin a one-year contract today with the city of Agoura Hills to design a traffic circle or roundabout at Agoura and Kanan roads.
The contract was unanimously approved Wednesday night by the City Council.
The city had also considered proposals from three other companies, KOA Corp., RBF Consulting and MNS Engineering Inc.
In his staff report, City Engineer Ramiro Adeva said Boyle had an excellent reputation and experience working with the city.
The company designed a bike lane project on Agoura Road.
The contract approved was for $224,407; about $20,000 less than KOA's bid and about $70,000 less than RBF's. The contract states the project should not exceed $260,000.
The roundabout will be part of the Agoura Village Specific Plan, approved by the council in June 2006, and is expected to improve traffic flow.
The contract calls for periodic communication with the city staff on the project's progress, including at the 35 percent, 65 percent and 95 percent design completion stages. In addition, the company must conduct three public information meetings.
The starting date for construction of the roundabout is yet to be determined. It is tied to later stages of planning and approval of the Agoura Village Specific Plan.
The contract with Boyle Engineering is limited specifically to the design of the traffic circle.
Posted by pearldolphin on March 1, 2008 at 10:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I could just see the accidents now. A lot of people out here don't know what a roundabout (traffic circle) is, much less how to drive in one... there's one at the OaksMall which, I've seen quite a few closecalls (though there are arrows pointing in the direction of which way the traffic flow should go). There's also a few in Ventura and Santa Barbara with the same problem. Good luck on that.
Posted by THX1138 on March 1, 2008 at 12:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes, it may take some time to get used to, but I'd bet many will come to favor them.
Roundabouts are so much more efficient when compared to sitting at a red light.
People just need to understand what "yield" means and courtesy helps to make roundabouts work.
Posted by spinner on March 1, 2008 at 3:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Traffic circles can be convenient for cars, but can cause problems for pedestrians and cyclists. Please design a facility for all road users, not just automobiles.
Posted by JeremyCastle on June 19, 2008 at 5:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There seems to be a lack of knowledge about roundabouts, confirmed once again by two of the comments made here.
A traffic circle and a roundabout are not the same thing. A traffic circle are the old traffic circles seen in places like Washington D.C. Those are actually quite dangerous and that's why construction of those were stopped decades ago. A roundabout has a different design scheme, and study after study shows they are much safer.
As far as bicycles and pedestrians go, in places like Holland and Germany there are normal crosswalks at roundabouts(just before the cars "reach the give way" line) and a separate lane for bicycles that have to be treated the same as other cars in the roundabout already.
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