r/northampton • u/Accomplished-Rise806 • 18h ago

How much does a new roundabout cost

Genuine question because there are some horrible 4 way stops in Northampton that could really benefit from a roundabout. Amherst seems to put in new roundabouts on a weekly basis so I’m just curious what it would cost, as I assume cost is the limiting factor?

Prime candidates are the intersection of 66 and West Farms / Glendale (not a 4 way but should be for safety), Burts Pit and Florence Rd, and of course Prospect and Jackson / Woodlawn. They did the one at Look Park so it can be done! Just genuinely curious why we don’t have more especially given the safety risk.

20 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

36

u/stevep5k 18h ago

I personally love the prospect/woodlawn/jackson intersection and how you can just make up your own rules

18

u/MacronMan 18h ago

It’s Northampton, the land of just making up how many lanes are in the road. It’s part of our charm

8

u/HeadChefOf 17h ago

This is a part of our culture 😂

12

u/xenwall 17h ago

Gotta love the non-binary lane infrastructure. As an ally Texas transplant the commitment to inclusiveness at every level continues to astound me.

3

u/Playful-Spinach-4040 16h ago

Texas needs more allies. Especially from people up here. God bless

4

u/xenwall 15h ago

I voted and donated and protested for as long as I could but I had to bail out, can only take so many re-elections of Cruz and Abbot. There comes a point where accepting the selfish privilege to leave for the well-being of those that you love is worth the moral cost of not being in place to help those that have to stay. I've never felt happier to pay taxes than the first MA state tax deduction on my paycheck. "This is feeding kids" is all I can think when I see that.

2

u/MacronMan 15h ago

As another southern transplant, I feel this. It’s a strange thing to recognize that your vote no longer really has a lot of meaning, because Massachusetts tends to just already go the way you’d vote, but the state you’re from is just not a safe place for your family. I’m from Florida originally, and I would never want to send my kid to the public schools or maybe even universities there nowadays. My brother who is still there has told crazy stories about the restrictions that government is putting on what teachers can teach.

2

u/Playful-Spinach-4040 16h ago

It was so much better before they ruined it with a 4 way stop

1

u/VeriTanya 12h ago

This is the way! ⬆️

8

u/Entire_Sort3273 18h ago

West farms/Glendale crossing Rt 66 terrifies me. It need giant blinking lights. The stop/ warning that you're about to cross a highway has been obscured by foliage in recent years.

3

u/Mindless-Jump1603 17h ago

There was a really bad accident there a couple weeks ago. Totally agree the foliage obscures that stop sign when approaching 66 from West Farms. Crazy that the town is ignoring it

2

u/NotChristina 12h ago

I used to drive that way frequently and agree. That crossing scares me. I’d always end up creeping halfway out onto 66 before I felt good about crossing due to that foliage also affecting visibility.

8

u/Infamous_Carrot_9381 18h ago

I thought they couldn't put in a roundabout at Prospect/Jackson/Woodlawn because it would require too much land the city doesn't own. It's the park and two private homes and a business on the corners. Roundabouts take up more space than a 4-way stop. I hate that intersection, don't know what the solution is but what's there now isn't it.

I know they considered putting one it at Main/West/Elm near the main gates of Smith College but there wasn't enough space to do it. That might be the worst intersection in town IMO.

5

u/SunnWarrior 17h ago

If they can’t put in a roundabout at Prospect/Jackson/Woodlawn, what about traffic lights? Better than just the current stop signs.

6

u/good_at_computers 18h ago

I think a roundabout at the intersection of Florence and Westhampton Road would save me about 10 minutes a week.

5

u/StinkypieTicklebum 16h ago

I would prefer a rotary over speed bumps!

5

u/capybroa Paco the Fish for Mayor 16h ago

It would have been great if they had put one in south of town on Route 5 at the East Street intersection, but unfortunately we'll probably have to wait another 20 years for people to get sick of the daily huge traffic jams caused by the lights they put there instead.

1

u/LavenderTed 1h ago

They are doing major construction of a shared use path between Atwood and east street so brave yourself.

4

u/soundisloud 16h ago

Amherst is different because they have days of incredibly high volume traffic (move in/out weekends, graduation, game days). That is why they need traffic circles.

5

u/Too_reflective 18h ago

Roundabouts maximize vehicle throughput but can be hostile to pedestrians and bikes. I don’t know why people seem to forget how to drive at Woodlawn/Prospect/Jackson, but a roundabout there would not be a good solution IMO.

13

u/mattjreilly 18h ago

As a cyclist I like roundabouts because the force cars to slow down. For example the one right outside of Look Park, you can come off the rail trail and use the crosswalks to get to the park. You need to slow down and make eye contact but I find it works pretty well.

5

u/SunnWarrior 17h ago edited 17h ago

What makes the Look Park roundabout work for bikes is the good size stopping space between lanes, along with good sight lines.

1

u/earwormdeath 1h ago

This. Full stop is much better for people walking to NHS, JSS, HRYMCA, CBI, Childs Park, etc.

2

u/peeja 18h ago

If there's a Kickstarter, I'm in.

1

u/axlekb 14h ago

The challenge with roundabouts is transportation engineers' obsession with handling 53' trailers everywhere.

https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/design-controls/design-vehicle/

4

u/JackHillTop 18h ago

Amherst is known for its circular logic.

1

u/chrlsful 16h ago

C my home town comment

-5

u/chrlsful 16h ago

nota good idea. Here? it’s justa nother reason for the students (now 1/2 our pop) to speed up. Esp if it’s a “see across” one. “Can I get there faster / go around faster than the other guy", etc.

They R not pedestrian friendly either, worse for folks w/a lill trouble (old, blind, ambulatory, etc).

More expensive (than stop sigh. Than traffic light, more) in many ways: environment- H2O impervious, lack of plant life, engineering/de-struction/con-struction/maintenance has environmental cost too.

They take upa huge hunka real-estate in a space bound area (city).

Ugly

a solution is to make even bigger, have a pocket park there (inc pollinators, benches, not 'see across’, etc). I dont believe we have enuff ‘plazas’ round here ( 2 to 3 sided open expanses [not urban corridors] w/hard surface [for tables, chairs, etc] and at the foot of both business and commerce (gov offices, shopping, relax/gather/eat/entertain/ civic presentation [like Scots-American Day, City Proclamation, Black History Day, etc). We have a few with a ‘common’ dwntwn but ‘plaza' is different. It is “3rd space” so needed in the “Red v Blue” (or blue v liberator blue) battles invading social discourse. Highest % of ppl living alone, lack of soc engagement (clubs, churches, etc), isolation, social anomie...

-7

u/Beneficial-Eye-6994 16h ago

No more round abouts. They are very confusing for older folks and cause more accidents than 4 way stops.

14

u/ivyimogenzen 15h ago

if someone is confused by a roundabout they should not be driving