Roundabout Talks Go 'Round and 'Round In Lafayette

As , the city of Lafayette is proposing medians along the east end Mt. Diablo Boulevard, along with a controversial roundabout. City of Lafayette Engineer Tony Coe presented the project to the planning commission Monday night, and while the planning commission made no decisions, everyone had something to say about it.

Coe’s presentation explained that the project would make the area more aesthetically pleasing with new landscape, increase pedestrian safety and slow down cars on the east end of Mt. Diablo.

Responding to public feedback from previous meetings, Coe explained that changes had been made to the medians so that gaps in the medians were strategically located, allowing left turns into business driveways along the road.

While most of the planning commission seemed to be in favor of the new alternate median plan, the roundabout became a point of contention.

The roundabout would be located on Mt. Diablo Blvd. at Golden Gate Way, where two senior housing developments were recently approved.

Members of the public discussed different issues with the roundabout. Lynn Hidden of Lafayette said she was concerned about the ability of big trucks to make it through the traffic calming device. Coe, however, said that the city had analyzed the issue, and that a 69 foot vehicle would be able to make it without problem.

Others expressed concerned that the roundabout would slow traffic on Mt. Diablo Blvd., further congesting downtown.

Some members of the public and commissioners questioned the need for the roundabout in the first place, saying that traffic did not seem to be a major problem in the area, and that there were never many pedestrians wishing to cross the street there.  

While the majority of the planning commission approved of the medians, the commission was split on the roundabout, with multiple commissioners still somewhere in the middle, seeing both pros and cons with the plan.

Commissioner Patricia Curtin-Tinely said she was concerned about bicycle safety and that the roundabout might not be able to accommodate the amount of traffic the road sees everyday.

On the other side, commissioner Karen Maggio supported the roundabout, calling the current east end of town a “1950’s, 1960’s auto-centric design.”

“I think this roundabout offers a much more gracious alternative to what we currently have,” Maggio said.  

The planning commissioners’ comments will be forwarded to the city council. The city council will see the project at their next meeting on Monday, August 13.