by SC Reporter Emilie Alfino
The City Council on December 3 heard a presentation by Kimley-Horn and Associates showcasing the possibility of installing a roundabout at the intersection of Periwinkle, Lindgren, and Causeway Boulevard – what islanders call the “four-way.”
Construction would take 12 to 18 months at a cost of $3.5 million to $5 million. By comparison, the cost of the traffic aides is $300,000 to $350,000 per year.
Bill Waddill, certified planner, and Ian Rairden, transportation engineer, made the presentation after having conducted two public workshops, three focus group meetings with the Chamber of Commerce, Utilities Departments, and island non-profit organizations, and one with Bill Millar, COTI President and Chair of COTI’s Transportation Committee. They made the presentation to the Planning Commission last month.
They also held six Public Workshop and Stakeholder Meetings in July with about 75 attendees, and they had 1,115 respondents to a traffic survey.
“This is not a perfect solution; there probably isn’t one,” Waddill told the Planning Commission last month. The roundabout question has been going on for decades, coming up once 20 years ago and again about 10 years ago. “People are tired of talking about it, it’s been going on for decades,” he added. He said these are very preliminary designs and are done in such a way that they can be easily “tweaked” in the future.
Overall traffic concerns coming from the meetings were that traffic will worsen as more business and residents return; post-Hurricane Ian volumes and vehicle types are not typical; existing bridge, cross-street traffic, and other factors contribute to long wait times along Periwinkle; concern for traffic officer safety, consistent effectiveness and ongoing cost; and traffic times directly impacting vulnerable populations (school children and seniors), business owners/employees; and general quality of life.
Waddill told City Council the roundabout would result in less severe crashes than are experienced without it, crashes in which the vehicles are still driveable, with no disabled vehicles blocking the road. He said with the roundabout designed for traffic at about 20-25 miles per hour driving speed, pedestrians and bicyclists would be much more likely to survive a crash. “If there’s an accident, it’s just a sideswipe,” Waddill said.
Renderings of the proposed roundabout at the intersection of Periwinkle, Lindgren, and Causeway Boulevard on Sanibel Island.
People seem concerned about whether drivers can handle a roundabout. Waddill insisted that drivers are getting more comfortable with roundabouts and with their safety.
“The need is there,” said Commissioner Lyman Welch at the Planning Commission meeting. “I have been stuck in traffic leaving the island for two hours. You can’t even get to Jerry’s. It keeps you from going to restaurants because you know you’ll get stuck in traffic. Attracting and retaining people who work on the island is extremely difficult. Kids get stuck on the school buses.”
Welch felt it was essential to install proposed “metering” signs that will pause traffic when it gets backed up before allowing it to proceed into the roundabout. “We have to look at the metering lights in reference to the Sanibel Plan.” Welch said he thinks the metering lights are going to be essential.
Councilmember Holly Smith said she felt like she was “damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.” “I need a lot more learning before I make a decision,” she said. “What is the greater good?”
Smith said she believes this issue has to have a referendum. “I’m not comfortable with three or five Council members making this decision for residents,” Smith said. She asked to be provided with an example of a real-life roundabout that’s like the one proposed for Sanibel so she can view it and experience it. She also said a metered signal, which would require a referendum, or a person directing the traffic would be a necessity.
And how do you prevent the circle from becoming clogged? Waddill responded, “Drivers will leave a gap” for cars to enter the circle.
“The metering aspect gives me hope this might actually work,” said Mayor Richard Johnson. “I’m challenged to see how this really works the majority of the time.”
Waddill said there are other things to look at besides the four-way intersections at Periwinkle and Causeway Boulevard.
City Manager Dana Souza said this is a first step to look at alternatives. “It’s not intended to be a silver bullet,” he added. “It’s the first step to come up with a conceptual alternative.”
If Council moves forward with this study, it will have to be with a joint level of cooperation with Lee County, Council members agreed. The Planning Commission had provided a recommendation to City Council to move forward by a vote of 4-2.
Souza put three choices to Council:
• You can do nothing and let it end here;
• You can take the next step and move to the 30 percent design phase, which includes survey work; or
• You can get a decision with the County study first before moving forward.
During the public comment period, citizen and former City Council member Peter Pappas once again spoke out, as he did at the Planning Commission. “You will not do this. Use both logic and conscience, and don’t take the chance,” he said. He said there are three loaded entries into the roundabout but one limited exit. It’s too narrow to do two lanes off the island for it to effectively work. “I believe we may have already arrived at the solution, and that is the way it’s being handled now,” Pappas concluded.
Committee of the Islands (COTI) President Bill Millar said COTI has been looking at this issue for three years. He said the board believes that taking the next step is appropriate.
“We believe there’s an opportunity to deal with the aesthetics entering the island.” Then speaking as a private citizen who lives on Lindgren, Millar said, “This is an appropriate first step to take. I think we shouldn’t kid ourselves. We’re going to have to manage the traffic.” He said that may mean closing or limiting traffic on some other roads.
The study concluded that the only feasible options to improve the traffic situation are a traffic signal or a roundabout.
Planning Commissioner Paul Nichols, who voted against moving the proposal to City Council said at last month’s meeting, “I’m a big fan of the traffic officers. I think they do a great job.”
Feedback from the town hall meetings concluded other adjacent intersection improvements must be a part of a multi-faceted approach to alleviating congestion on the island. Locals have adapted to traffic and plan around peak times.
About 550 respondents completed the free-response portion of the traffic survey, which showed decreased traffic wait times was the top priority. About 10 percent of respondents mentioned the causeway as a traffic issue, and approximately 45 percent of survey respondents listed safety as their top design priority. There also was concern about the needs of island residents, not only on/off/cut-through traffic, and to improving pedestrian and bicycle safety
With approximately 1,400 “touchpoints” of feedback through various means including public meetings, survey responses, and email, results determined:
• 20 percent of 1,400 specifically mentioned roundabouts
◦ Of those 20 percent, two-thirds were in favor of roundabouts
• Majority consensus from the approximately 75 workshop attendees was that the proposed roundabout solution makes sense and should proceed to further design and implementation
“The problem we’re addressing here has existed for the 55 years I’ve been living here,” said citizen and former City Council member Peter Pappas during the public comment period at the Planning Commission meeting. “This [roundabout] will intensify the existing problems. Why doesn’t the County want anything to do with it? Because it’s not going to work. We’re going to build on the causeway a playland. There’s no better way to handle [the traffic] than a person who can see.”
Pappas said the current condition, where there is one person making the decision to move cars, rather than many, many drivers independently making decisions when and where to move cars, is better. “I appreciate the aesthetics. But nothing can replace the human mind of the people working, signaling traffic to come and go. They really use their heads and keep the traffic flowing as best they can.”
City Manager Dana Souza said Lee County is generally supportive of the roundabout idea. “This is a journey that started with design,” he pointed out. “We have to look at it as a step-by-step process.”
The plan must include the County looking at two lanes off the causeway, said Planning Commission Vice Chair Eric Pfeifer at last month’s meeting. “There’s no other way it can substantially work.”
“All we’re doing is taking a mess and moving it a few yards,” said Commissioner Colter, who represented the second “no” vote about recommending this go forward with City Council. “Could we take a step back and work with the County first? Somebody’s going to kill somebody. It has to be the whole package.”
The Planning Commission last month decided to move forward with two separate motions. First, to recommend to City Council that the Commission shows support of the plan conceptually and to have City Council continue examination of the proposal. This motion passed 4-2, with Chair Roger Grogman absent. Commissioners Colter and Nichols voted “no.” The second motion was to recommend City Council have a discussion with Lee County concerning traffic flow on the causeway to Punta Rassa with an attempt to improve traffic flow in the afternoon. This passed unanimously, with Grogman absent.
At its December 3 meeting, City Council voted 5-0 to obtain an estimate to proceed with a 30 percent design survey and updated cost estimate. Council also passed unanimously a second motion to direct the City Manager to have discussions with Lee County officials to consider structural changes to reduce the causeway congestion.
“It gives me some hope that maybe we have a partial answer to the traffic problem,” said Johnson. “This is going to require a significant amount of public input.”
“I can’t say no to something, and I can’t say yes to something until I have all the facts,” Smith said. “This should be a referendum item. That’s the right thing to do,” she repeated.
If only 10% of respondents mentioned the causeway as the issue, that means that 90% of respondents, as well as the consultants, do not understand the actual cause of slow traffic on what is essentially a 15 mile long, 2 lane, dead end road. Commission Colter, at least, sees the folly in this proposal without being coupled with a way to improve flow on the causeway. Sanibelians have had enough disruptions over the last 5 years with pandemics and hurricanes. I implore the council not to further disrupt our lives by jacking with the only way on or off the island just because one of their many “studies” recommends this.
We live in an area of South Florida that has many traffic way circles. And just like four way stops, there are way too many that cannot grasp how to maneuver a traffic circle. Some back up traffic worse than a traffic signal. As stated, there is no perfect answer.
Has there been any discussion about reducing the number of cars by connecting the island to the Lee transit system? The problem can be solved by putting more people on fewer vehicles. Perhaps incentives for our resort guests to travel by bus to the island from airport and have a few buses circling the business district for their needs. This needs no infrastructure changes and could be adjusted for our seasonal population changes.