10 The Dallas Post COMMUNITY Friday, June 27, 2003 Roundabout (continued from page 1) idea of a roundabout to the borough council as an economi- cal way to alleviate the extreme congestion there, lessen the likelihood of severe accidents and at the same time retain the integrity of the downtown. He said some wary residents suggested putting lights in to alleviate the problems. Davis said to do so, however, would have created what he calls “noise pollution,” an unattrac- tive option with the small town atmosphere of little shops and stores. Glass, the borough secretary, related the concerns of some of the residents who wanted to maintain the downtown as it was. “Our town is 300 years old I was skeptical — initially I didn’t think it would work, but I have changed my mind.” Faith Peterson Abbottstown and has a lot of historical homes in it. They (the resi- dents) didn’t want anything modern in it,” said Glass. In Dallas, council has re- ceived the idea well. Members have said they see it as an at- tractive option to dealing with the growth in outlying areas af- fecting their downtown. They have also said they see it as a strong component to the ongo- ing downtown revitalization plans. But there are concerns as well, including about the ability of delivery trucks to get through and general driver con- fusion. Glass said although some members of the Abbottstown Borough Council were against the conversion, largely they have changed their mind. Faith Peterson, an Ab- bottstown resident who works in the borough municipal of- fice, agreed. “People didn’t think it would work. I was skeptical — initial- ly I didn’t think it would work, but I have changed my mind,” Abbottstown’s roundabout is the smallest diameter PennDOT builds, yet it handles as much GRAPHIC BY ABNA ENGINEERING In Towson, Maryland, an oval-shaped roundabout connects several intersections. A similar arrangement could be used in Dallas to bring all the the present “five-points” intersection together while easing congestion. Circle, rotary, roundabout — what’s the difference? What is the difference between a traffic circle and a roundabout? Traffic circles, rotaries and roundabouts are all similar, according to PennDOT, but their differ- ences put roundabouts on top. Roundabouts essentially are re- engineered traffic circles that have been tweaked to slow down and meter approaching traffic. As opposed to circles and rotaries, all roundabouts have or require the following: Yield signs at all entries, not stop signs or signals. Approach geometry that forces cars to enter the circle nearly parallel rather than perpendicular. Design that requires entering vehicles to negotiate a radius small enough to slow speeds to no greater than 30 mph. In contrast, rotaries are larger and traffic moves faster. Pedestrians are allowed to cross only the legs of the roundabout, not the middle. traffic as Memorial Highway through Dallas Borough. said Peterson. “It works better than I thought it would and I think that is the sentiment of a lot of people,” she added. Since the conversion, Glass said no matter what direction she approaches the intersection from, she never waits for more than a minute — a significant change from the five minutes she said she used to wait. Davis said the roundabout in- stalled in Abbottstown is the first PennDOT has put in his south central region. The oth- ers in his region, in New Ox- ford and Gettysburg, have been there “forever,” he said. “This is the first in District 8. It is a change in thinking in our traffic units across the state. It’s - 24 Vehicle to Podustrian conic . Vehicle ro podesrin conflict i ws Se a RE ih i Fi i a ns becoming more accepted under the correct circumstances,” he said. Davis said a roundabout has the advantage of metering traf- fic and forcing it to slow down. Like Route 415 in Dallas Bor- ough, he said Route 30 had a problem with vehicles speed- ing, and conflicts with the small shops along the road. “The size of the circle forces a 20-25 mile an hour speed lim- it,” he said. “You have a nice constant flow of traffic.” He said the roundabout re- duces the possibility of severe accidents, in part because cars are traveling more slowly and because the number of “conflict points,” or possible places a car can come into contact with an- GRAPHIC BY ABNA ENGINEERING Roundabouts minimize “conflict points” between vehicles and pedestrians, compared to a conventional intersection. other car or pedestrian, wolf | down significantly. He said a traffic signal has 32 vehicle-to-vehicle conflict points and 24 vehicle-to-pedes- trian conflict points. With a roundabout, that number goes down to 8 vehicle to vehicle conflict points and eight vehi- cle to pedestrian conflict points. PennDOT’s Guide to Round- abouts cites roundabouts in the United States have shown total crash reductions of 37 percent and injury crash reductions of 51 percent. Peterson, who works in the borough office, said accidents were common in their old traf- fic pattern. “We used to always have people running through the square (downtown), that’s stopped,” she said. Other benefits listed in the PennDOT guide include in- creased traffic capacity with re- duced delay, traffic calming ef- fects and significant lowering oo of noise and air pollution. \ Dallas Borough Council will vote on whether to authorize PennDOT to add the round- about intersection configura- tion to the department’s 12- year plan at its July council meeting. PennDOT officials have said construction . could take place in as little as three years. If the ‘roundabout is .ap- proved, the developer of a pos- sible “big box” store in Dallas Township would be granted the highway-occupancy permit he needs to move ahead with con- ‘Hot Dog Bob’ will appeal $6,000 judgement HARVEYS LAKE “Hot Dog Bob” Prescott said Wednesday he would appeal a court judgement against him that stemmed from a dispute with two borough restauran- teurs. On June 16, Harveys Lake Borough won a judgment against Prescott for $500, after claiming Prescott continued to sell hot dogs from property the borough ordered him to leave. Adding attorney fees and court costs brought the total assessment against Prescott to $5,950.79. The charges originally were $500 a day for 24 instances, but the borough THANK YOU! Voters Of Kingston Township dropped them to one day, court papers stated. The Harveys Lake Zoning Board prohibited Prescott from selling hot dogs from an under- sized lot in August 2001 after hearing testimo- ny from restaurant owners Kent Jones, who owns Jones's Pancake House, and Damien Kaye, who owns Damien’s on the Lake. Prescott was set up on a vacant lot between the two other businesses. Jones and Kaye were upset because Prescott’s customers used their parking spaces. They claimed that customers can’t get to the vendor without crossing their proper- ties. Jett BOX pave JENKINS sean MCANDREW For Your Support and Interest In The Recent Primary Election Paid for by Candidates Community Minded Just like you 288-4511 287-1141 MEMBER F.D.I.C. our business depends on basics. Basic Business Checking. Operating your own business successfully means making the right financial decisions. 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