GOSHEN — Goshen officials announced on Monday that funding is secured to pay for installing a roundabout to move traffic through the sometimes frustrating intersection of College Avenue and 15th Street.

The next day the phone lines at City Hall began ringing off the hook as residents expressed their concern with the plan.

The intersection currently has a traffic signal and can become quite clogged when factories at the nearby industrial park on the south end of town end their shifts.

On Friday, with traffic whizzing past, Mayor Allan Kauffman stood near the intersection and explained how a roundabout would be of benefit.

Kauffman said this intersection was chosen for the project for three reasons. First and foremost, removal of the traffic intersection will alleviate congestion and maximize traffic flow, the roundabout will improve safety by reducing injury accidents, and the roundabout will help reduce tailpipe emissions.

“This specific intersection has peak traffic counts that are very high, when industrial park employees are going to and from their jobs, while much of the remainder of the day and the entire weekend have low traffic counts,” Kauffman said. “The traffic roundabout will be engineered and constructed so that it will be easily maneuvered through by emergency vehicles of all types, including police cars, ambulances and fire trucks.”

The mayor said accidents in a traffic circle are minor, because of the slower speeds of traffic in them. Cars in motion are less polluting than stopped cars, the mayor said.

Grant funding

Paul Scott, a former long-time city council member and resident of South 11th Street, said he does not think a roundabout at College and 15th Street is appropriate. He said drivers will need to be re-educated if the traffic circle is built there.

“It’s an example of why the country is in the shape it is in,” Scott said. “Getting grants. They always go for it. We wouldn’t consider it (the construction) without obtaining a grant.”

Goshen will receive the first of three grants this year to help plan and construct the traffic circle on College Avenue.

Goshen officials learned last week at the meeting of the Michiana Area Council of Government’s transportation technical advisory committee that the city may receive up to three rounds of funds for building the roundabout. This year’s grant will be $800,000.

City engineer Mary Cripe, who proposed the project, has estimated the total cost to be between $2 million and $2.2 million. Goshen will be responsible for 20 percent of the construction costs. The project is slated for construction in 2014.

The grant will be from Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds that are administered through MACOG.

Gaining popularity

The proposed College Avenue roundabout would be the second in the city. There is currently a roundabout a short distance east of the proposed site on Dierdorff Road. That roundabout, however, is quite small and doesn’t handle nearly as much traffic as would be the case on College Avenue.

Kauffman acknowledged that the College Avenue roundabout would have to be bigger than the one on Dierdorff Road.

Other communities have turned to roundabouts as a way of reducing traffic congestion at troublesome intersections. In the past five years, South Bend has added two roundabouts on Lincolnway West near South Bend Regional Airport that have received positive reviews from commuters.

Other roundabouts in the area include Douglas Road and Twyckenham Drive just north of the University of Notre Dame and Cleveland and Bittersweet Roads in eastern St. Joseph County.

While College Avenue is a “no truck” route, there is truck traffic as they make deliveries and the street must be wide enough for fire trucks and ambulances. The intersection is just a half block from the southside fire station.

State highway officials have indicated that the plan to widen U.S. 33 is on the front burner and when that work is under way, traffic may increase on College Avenue, the mayor said.

Mixed feelings

Nearby residents and frequent commuters have mixed feelings about making the College Avenue intersection a roundabout.

“I think it is a good idea,” said Irene Campos of Goshen. “This is a high traffic area. A lot of people get off work at the same time. There is a lot of traffic.”

Jim Burgess of South Bend said he is not bothered by roundabouts.

“I have three near my house,” Burgess said. “I was born in Europe. There are a lot of them in Europe.”

Burgess went on say his biggest problem would be driving through Goshen during the construction.

“I would have to find another way to work,” he said.

Charles Warfield of Mishawaka, worries about the patience of other drivers when maneuvering through roundabouts.

“I don’t like them,” Warfield declared as he was leaving work at HomeCrest Cabinets on Friday. “People just plow through them.”

Guillermo Silva of Ligonier, who works near College Avenue and 15th Street, said the intersection, currently controlled with a traffic signal, is a mess at quitting time.

“Yeah, I think (a roundabout) is a good idea,” Silva said. “When we get out of work, we spend five minutes getting through the intersection.”

Dennis Branum Jr., a lifelong resident of Goshen, has lived along College Avenue for the past 11 years. He is also against building a roundabout and feels it would be a waste of money.

“We don’t need a roundabout,” he said. “We need police protection.”

While College Avenue is a “no truck route,” Branum estimates between 40 or 50 semi-trucks go by his house each day.

“I’m definitely against it,” he said. “The people of Goshen should put a stop to it.”