The claim by TAMC of roundabouts “improving traffic flow” really needs to be quantified and by TAMC’s own admission, the best improvement of the PM peak commute period is projected to only be a 5 minute improvement (13.8%) as shown in the TAMC slide posted below. As you can see, this is actually the same as their claim for the in Alternative 2. So, Caltrans wants to spend over $200 Million to save 5 minutes off of a current 36-minute PM peak commute.
It was even documented in the August 2013 TOAR (Traffic Operations Analysis Report) that was produced and published by Caltrans, which stated on page 5 “the AM Peak Hour performance of the proposed Alternative 1 (9 Roundabouts) is marginally better than the No-Build” which means they admit that spending over $200 Million, will not significantly improve the current AM peak commute.
Neither of these takes into account the increase in commute time the 9 roundabouts will cause during the 20 hours of daily non-peak travel which currently takes only about 12-14 minutes. Visualize how much longer it will take to travel the same distance with needing to slow down to 15 mph, 9 times, 24 hours per day and 7 days a week, regardless of traffic. And we all know how one inexperienced driver can impact everyone behind them when they do not proceed efficiently.
AI Controlled Traffic Signals will produce much better peak commute congestion reduction at a fraction of the cost and not negatively impact the non-peak traffic flow.
Those that travel that section of Hwy 68 during peak commute know that it is simply too many vehicles trying to get through a restricted space and that you can be frequently sitting at a green light, unable to proceed. You can also easily see exactly where the congestion occurs at any given time by using Google Maps (as shown below) and check the travel time along that 8 mile stretch to see where the most congestion is occurring. If you believe it is the fault of the signal operation, then install AI controlled signal software to make them smarter and react to real time situations. Drivers also need to consider that entering the proposed roundabouts on Hwy 68 from the side streets during peak commute hours will be very difficult with needing to legally yield to a continuous flow of vehicles on the main line and unable to find a gap in that traffic.
