Don't know the source of the money.  Only that I read that the majority (95%) of the $14M is coming from the federal and state governments.   Regardless, it is an unnecessary expense.

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Erie Boulevard roundabout proposed for safest intersection
Friday, October 31, 2008
By Kathleen Moore (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

SCHENECTADY — Accident data for Erie Boulevard calls into question one of the key reasons for the controversial roundabout proposal — improving safety.

Three years of data shows that the most dangerous area on Erie Boulevard stretches from State Street to Union Street, as many pedestrians have told the Schenectady City Council. But the city’s multi-million dollar safety measure is supposed to be on the last block of Erie Boulevard, just before Interstate 890. The accident data show that the city has picked the least-dangerous intersection on the boulevard for its controversial roundabout.
Online extra

To review safety and accident data provided by Clough Harbour & Associates, click here.

Project designers from Clough Harbour, who provided the accident data, said there was a simple reason for the location: they didn’t propose a roundabout to improve safety.

“It wasn’t that we identified safety. It was to create a ‘boulevard,’” said Dave Kahlbaugh, senior transportation planner at Clough Harbour. “The roundabout really came about from the desire to have the ability for people to turn around in a boulevard and to address those people who are currently making u-turns in the middle of the street.”

Mayor Brian U. Stratton vehemently disagreed, saying safety was a primary focus in the design.

“Safety is a key issue,” he said. “The accident rate is 2.5 times the normal rate. Obviously safety is something we’re very concerned about.”

But Kahlbaugh said the engineering firm began discussing a roundabout because engineers could see no other way to get large trucks across the divided highway. They needed to find a solution to that problem because they had been hired by the city to find a way to turn that block of Erie into a divided highway.

“There was originally a planning study done by someone else that articulated a vision of a ‘boulevard,’” Kahlbaugh said. “So the design task is to say, OK, we have this vision. How do we implement that and how do we address issues like access to the businesses?”

After designing several options including a roundabout, Clough Harbour gathered accident data and studied traffic flows.

“We used the data to evaluate design options,” he said, adding that he was pleased to see that the data indicated a divided highway would improve safety.

“The types of accidents that occur are largely rear-end, left turn and side-swipe types,” he said. “You have poor access-management controls. The striped area isn’t wide enough to totally accommodate a vehicle. These types of accidents are typically associated with these types of features.”

Almost half of the accidents on the last block of Erie fit his description, although just as many happened during right turns, from cars turning right into a parking lot or side street and being hit from behind.

The Daily Gazette asked the city for Clough Harbour’s detailed report on the three-year accident study, which was provided this week. A review indicates that the vast majority of the crashes occur farther up Erie Boulevard, at the intersections of State Street, Liberty Street and Union Street. Only 28 accidents occurred over three years on the last block of Erie Boulevard, and only six of those accidents involved an injury. There were no fatalities, just one head-on crash, and just one accident involving a left turn.

That doesn’t jive with city officials’ repeated descriptions of the dangers in that area. They have argued that a divided highway is necessary because too many cars are hit while trying to cross to the other side of the road.

“It’s a very dangerous situation for people who have to cross, who have to turn,” Mayor Brian U. Stratton said Friday, repeating comments he has made many times.

He and other Clough Harbour officials have also insisted that a roundabout is necessary to slow down traffic exiting Interstate 890.

When publicly announcing the roundabout last year, Clough Harbour landscape architect Scott Lewendon said it was the only effective way to slow down drivers. He said then that many cars were reaching speeds in excess of 60 mph, and argued that a roundabout would slow everyone down to 40 mph.

But his firm’s traffic study, which was done before the 2007 public meeting, shows that the average speed on the road already hovers between 31 mph and 40 mph. Some cars reached 45 mph around 6 p.m. Only five of 16,000 vehicles reached 55 mph, according to the study.

That doesn’t mean that most cars aren’t speeding. The limit there is 30 mph.

But the accident data shows that the true dangers are at the intersections of State Street, Liberty Street and Union Street — where many pedestrians have complained about the difficulty of crossing safely. Those three blocks of Erie are roughly the same distance as the last block of the boulevard.

In three years, there were 31 accidents at the Erie-State Street intersection, 29 at Liberty and 28 at Union. Four of the crashes resulted in injuries.

None of the crashes were head-on, nine involved a left turn and six involved pedestrians. By comparison, there was just one pedestrian-related accident on the last block of Erie during the same time period.

The accident rate for both stretches of Erie is higher than the norm for New York State. The rate for the last block of Erie is 7 accidents per 1 million cars; past State Street, the accident rate is 12 crashes per 1 million cars. For both areas, the statewide average is 2.7 crashes per million.

Kahlbaugh said Clough Harbour is now “brainstorming” alternatives that would allow easier access to businesses that will be blocked by the roundabout. Most business owners on the street have banded together to fight the project.

Although they say they want Clough Harbour to get rid of the roundabout, Kahlbaugh said that’s not likely.

“We’re still evaluating it,” he added. “I don’t know what we’ll be presenting. We’re considering everything seriously.”

Absolutely FRIGGIN incredible .... lied to again by the city administration.

Whoda thunk it'd be the Gazette to find the deception in the city.

BS has misled the residents and taxpayers.  The engineering firm that was hired to design the rotary
was given the objective to beautify the stretch of road rather than to provide a solution that would
increase safety.  As many on the Rotterdam and Schenectady forums have opined, the proposed
location appears to have been more about the elimination of two businesses (the Adult World store and the gun shop) perhaps by eminent domain than about slowing traffic or reducing traffic accident rates.

The cost to the city taxpayers in property taxes is $700K.  Add that to the ~$3K that BS tried to hide in the 2009 city budget for his raise in salary and the increase in his travel budget from $5K this year to $10k in 2009.

It appears that BS will have to move the honorary "BS Circle to Nowhere" further down Erie Boulevard if he wishes to improve safety.  The more that you learn, the more that BS seems full of himself and has little regard for his constituents..

City of Schenectady residents must be so proud about the choice that they made for Mayor last year.
"As ye sow, so shall ye reap"

Very true Brad, BS is all wrapped up in his own self importance.

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As many on the Rotterdam and Schenectady forums have opined, the proposed
location appears to have been more about the elimination of two businesses (the Adult World store and the gun shop) perhaps by eminent domain than about slowing traffic or reducing traffic accident rates.

Since everything is always 'for sale' and everything/body can be bought for a price....BS is selling the cheapest route....2 birds with 1 stone.....

PS--BS couldn't have mud on his face IF it was bought lock stock and barrel by the plebs......(no gun pun intended) I guess his friends are starting
to think BS has the clap, or maybe needs a slap?????

Quoted from 78

5% ($700K) of the $14M projected cost of the "BS Circle to Nowhere" to be paid by city residents could be
saved if this project was cancelled.  It is true that the federal and state governments have allocated the
funding for the majority of the project costs.  However, given the fiscal challenges faced by both, the approval of these funds could be withdrawn.  Further, the city residents and business owners located on Erie Boulevard have been unanimously opposed to the construction of the traffic rotary and assert that there is no legitimate need for it.

The $700,000 saved could be applied to the 2009 City of Schenectady Budget to either eliminate the need for a property tax increase and/or used to repave roads and repair infrastructure.  I question if the federal and state governments would provide funding, either equal to the initial commitment or partial, to be applied to general road and infrastructure maintenance (e.g., repaving).

I agree. And I really don't find any comfort in the fact that the state and feds will help with the financing of this  'circle to nowhere'. It is still OUR TAX DOLLARS! I don't think our present economy reflects a 'circle to nowhere'.

This clearly is a plan that hasn't been thought through, examined closely and recommended by the resident businesses in the areas affected. The State and City should pull ALL funding for this immediately and re-examine the need, costs and benefits of it at a time when the economy is better and we're in a more comfortable financial position for it.

Yes, I know - Captain Obvious - but it needed to be said again for the brain-dead at city hall.

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SCHENECTADY
Erie Boulevard plans go back for revision
After businesses battled, roundabout might not be built

BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

The Erie Boulevard redesign is going back to the drawing board and may not see the light of day for seven months or more, Clough Harbour designers told local business owners Thursday.
“We want to make sure we get it right, not get it fast,” said Clough Harbour marketing director Mark Tebbano.
    He also indicated that the new plan may not include the roundabout that was so thoroughly opposed by the Erie Boulevard business owners. And Mayor Brian U. Stratton — the strongest advocate for the roundabout — said he may be willing to consider a different plan for the street.
    “We may have one with a roundabout and one with a conventional intersection and ultimately find out which one works best for us,” he said.
    Stratton has never before indicated that he might consider an alternative to a roundabout, and business owners who have battled him for a year on this issue said they consider his comment to be a victory in itself. But they don’t expect to sign a peace treaty any time soon.
    The Erie Boulevard business owners have hired an engineer and an attorney, elected spokeswomen and hashed out strategies to win their cause. Nothing has been left to chance. They even dress alike for council meetings as a visual reminder of their numbers.
    On Thursday, they presented two formal engineering plans, drawn up by business owners, which they said their group had approved. Their goal is to find a better way to use the $14 million in state and federal funds already committed to the reconstruction of the road.
    They argued that their plan is safer than a roundabout for both pedestrians and drivers while still allowing cars to reach businesses on both sides of the street.
    Clough Harbour’s original design had called for a median down the entire last block of Erie Boulevard — between State Street and Interstate 890 — with a roundabout in the middle to allow drivers to turn around. That would have made it impossible for southbound drivers to reach several businesses without maneuvering through the I-890 interchange.
SAFETY ISSUE
    The business owners’ plans offer slightly narrower sidewalks and a wider median with turning lanes.
    Clough Harbour believes that almost half the accidents on the road are caused by a lack of turning lanes — cars stop in the driving lane while they wait for traffic to clear.
    “The fact that you can get your car out of the driving lane into a turning lane reduces the number of rear-enders and side-swipes,” said Manuel Montal. “It serves the purpose of getting you out of the line of traffi c.”
    The business owners’ plans also call for a regular traffic light on Erie Boulevard, rather than the current light that is only activated when pedestrians want to cross. Since it is rarely used, many drivers don’t notice it and drive through it even when it turns red.
    “A working traffic light would help calm traffic. The dedicated crosswalk would then be viable,” Montal said.
    The City Council, which must vote on the final plan, seems to be leaning toward the business owners’ design. Councilman Thomas Della Sala thanked Montal for bringing “concrete ideas,” while Councilwoman Barbara Blanchard said his design was far better than what she called Clough Harbour’s “suburban” plan for the city street.
    “I have a concern with this serpentine design,” Blanchard said, referring to Clough Harbour’s original streetscape. “I think it’s suburban. This is an urban street, and I think we should celebrate that. The grand boulevards in our great cities are straight.”
    She also said a bike path is not compatible with a roundabout, and of the two, the bike path is essential.
    Both Blanchard and ................................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00100

Cancel the project as the businesses don't want it and it's a huge waste of money and the argument about preventing accidents is just a myth to try and justify the wasted 14 million that it will cost to build the round-a-bout. The tax and spend days are over and it's time to cut the pork out of the budget, eliminate all unnecessary spending, eliminate the patronage jobs, and operate within the limits of the money available and not on money that may or may not be there next year.

I realize that just because the businesses don't want the roundabout, is not clearly enough reason not to construct it. But there are other reasons as well. First it truly is not a necessity. Second, it was proven that the area does not have that many accidents and that a roundabout will not make a difference where safety is concerned. (Not to mention there are other alternatives) Third and most importantly....WE CAN'T AFFORD IT!!!

If the goal is to get the adult world book store out, than change the zoning. Or better yet, let the plex find a home for them. I'm sure one of those buildings on State Street could house it. Put them on the 2nd or 3rd floor of one of them. Hey, I hear the Big House building is still vacant...so there ya go!!!

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Sch’dy wisely rethinks roundabout plan

    While we’ve been generally supportive of Schenectady’s Erie Boulevard redesign plan calling for the use of a traffic-calming roundabout, it’s become clear in the year since it was first proposed that most of the boulevard’s business owners, as well as other downtown merchants, were adamantly opposed to the idea. Their objections have been duly noted, and the plan has now been sent back to the engineers’ drawing board with a promise to develop an alternative. That’s good news, because whether they’re right or not, there seems little point in city officials imposing their will on an entire class of people who are uniformly opposed to an idea — especially when the people’s livelihood is at stake.
    There is no question that Erie Boulevard could stand both some prettying up and some design changes to make it more user-friendly. And by users, we don’t just mean motorists — who tend to speed up and down the straightaway unless they’re trying to make turns, which is when most accidents occur — but pedestrians. The roundabout plan would have slowed traffic while getting rid of two unseemly businesses (adjacent shops peddling guns and pornography); but it would have made certain areas of the boulevard much more difficult for motorists to reach. And it didn’t include a bike lane, highly desirable in modern urban road designs.
    The opponents didn’t just complain about the roundabout plan (though they surely did plenty of that); they banded together, hired their own engineer and...................................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00703

Another new low from the Daily Rag. They keep worrying about non-existent pedestrians and bike traffic.

     When 100% of the businesses on Erie Boulevard are against it you better scrap it. Stratton's Circle to Nowhere is DOA! Hurray! Working together doesn't work. MT has it right a brain dead City Hall and idiots at Clough Harbor. There is nothing wrong with the current Erie Blvd. Replant a few trees on the too wide sidewalks and call it a day.

     The City cannot afford to waste $700,000 in City taxpayer money to chase away the few remaining Downtown businesses. The anti-business policies of the horrible Stratton administration are disgusting. This is what happens after years of one party-working together nonsense. The Erie Business leaders have moved on to roast the horrible DSIC which along with the anti-business Chamber supported this turkey.

OK, I have not commented on this thread, mostly because I could care less either way.  I happen to be one of those rare birds that likes roundabouts and can't understand why people have such problems navigating them.  I really can't imagine a dumber place to stick a roundabout then at that intersection.  How about a traffic light that you can see?  I drive down Erie and blow through that light every time regardless of what color it is.  I forget it is there and I don't see it until it's way too late.  My guess is a traffic light and a crosswalk would solve the problem for about $75,000 compared to $14M.  

Circles are fine to replace a traffic light at a busy intersection. There is no no busy intersection here. Stratton wanted to remove a adult bookstore and gun shop so he came up with his idiotic circle to nowhere. The entire "plan" is now DOA and thousands of taxpayer dollars has been wasted on plans, like on the white elephant Downtown library. Erie Blvd. needs to be for commuters to get to GE, businesses and 890 not for "traffic calming", bike paths and non existent pedestrians. Schenectady should buy the statues of pedestrians from Albany since real shoppers left for Rotterdam and Guilderland decades ago.

     Brad was right on this from the beginning. Oppressed City taxpayers do not have $700,000 to waste on this nonsense. Time to start listening to business people and not how much Federal and State money will be received. Neither the Feds nor State have money to waste.