Roundabouts in Mount Pleasant's future
The Mount Pleasant City Commission approved construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Mosher and Main Street and the addition of 40 on-street parking spaces on Lincoln and Mosher with a cost of $329,000 at last week's meeting.
The bid for the projects was submitted by Malley Construction, 1531 N. Lincoln Road.
The commission approved this project and other city projects as part of a "mini-stimulus" for the area.
A mini-circle was also included for the corner of Fancher and Mosher Street in the projects, but the streets were found to be too large for the project. The corner would require a more costly roundabout, according to city commission documents.
Commissioner Sharon Tilmann expressed reservations about the proposed mini-circle and said residents came to her to tell her they did not approve of the proposal. Commissioner Jon Joslin agreed, and said that the project was expected in the city's 2011 improvement budget and there are too many "ifs" at the moment.
The proposed Fancher and Mosher Street mini-circle has since been taken out of the project, saving the city $67,000.
Another option to cut costs, according to a city memo from City Manager Kathy Grinzinger, was to remove decorative sign poles and sidewalk bollard lighting from the project. The projects, however, hope to create a "downtown signature" as well as modify the traffic flow of the area, according to the memo. The commission moved to keep the decorative structures in the plan.
Because of the city and county impact of decreased parking space, the city asked the county to partner in the project and help cover costs. If the county agrees to partner with the city in the project, approximately $40,000 will be covered by the county.
Roundabouts are one-way circular traffic intersections with a central "island" located in the center. They are designed to aid in the flow of traffic and make driving safer. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the installation of a roundabout can reduce up to 75 percent of vehicle injury accidents.
City Commissioner Kathleen Ling said it would be a good idea to try the first roundabout before implementing other similar structures on additional roads.
"Let's do Mosher and Main (Streets) and see how it works," she said.
Malley Construction's bid came in at $396,176.50 including the Fancher and Mosher Street roundabout. Had the commission allowed all aspects of the bid, the city would have required another $109,000 for Mallard Construction to complete the projects. The original budget for these projects was $310,000.
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