utilities, widening sidewalks, and putting in a multi-use
path on one side of the road. Besides new sidewalks, the
roundabout design included pedestrian crosswalks with
rectangular rapid-flash beacons with an audio tone for the
visually impaired. Ayres Associates teamed with Ourston
Roundabout Engineering (now GHD) on the roundabout
design.
Since the roundabout has opened, Mason said the severity
of crashes has dramatically decreased.
Happier travels
Once construction was under way, a full-page
advertisement was placed in the newspaper to show how
the roundabout would function while providing rules
on how to drive through it. Then when the
intersection was ready to fully open,
the City held a series of educational
sessions for the public. As part
of these sessions, presenters
encouraged residents to
guide replica cars and
trucks on a tabletop
printout of the
roundabout to explain
how traffic flows.
“We were
overwhelmed with
the number of people
who turned out for
those sessions,” Mason
said.
And these days, thanks to the roundabout and other
corridor improvements, Cheyenne residents are enjoying
their drive with much less frustration. Travel time through
the roundabout is much less now compared with going
through two traffic lights no matter which direction
motorists were driving.
“For the most part, the reaction has been
positive,” Dana said. “People are getting
more used to (the roundabout) and
more comfortable. We’ve had a lot
of comments about how pleased
people are with how well traffic
is moving.”
Fast
Fact
According to the website RoundaboutsUSA, the
number of roundabouts in the United States as
of December 2013 was about 3,700.
Cheyenne Mayor Rick
Kaysen said he has been
getting positive comments
from residents about the
roundabout and other
corridor improvements.
“It was a major change for
the community, but after
construction was done, I was
getting comments like ‘This
thing is working wonderfully,’ and
‘Why didn’t we do this sooner?’ ”
Kaysen said. “The acceptance is there.”
http://www.roundaboutsusa.com/history.html.
Taking it to
completion
Construction of the roundabout
and corridor improvements began in
spring 2013, and the two-lane roundabout
was opened to the public in December 2013. All pavement
markings, pedestrian improvements, landscaping, and
other finishing features were completed by June 2014. The
total construction cost for the corridor and roundabout
was about $9 million, funded by a mixture of federal and
local funds.
Mason credited the collaboration among the
MPO, the City, Ayres Associates, and Ourston for the
project’s success.
“Working with the Ayres team was great. They did a super
job with the planning process and dealing with the public,”
he said. “We had high regards for the abilities of both
Ayres and Ourston. I knew we were in good hands.”
The project included rehabilitating and reconstructing
about 1.25 miles of East Pershing Boulevard west of and
leading up to the roundabout intersection, installing new
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