A $4 Million Solution to a Problem That Can't Be Easily Solved
Vol. IV, No. 33 - The West Main Street Roundabout Isn't The Traffic Panacea Some Were Hoping For.
Last night, roughly 80 residents packed a two-and-a-half-hour City Council meeting to hear a presentation from American Structurepoint on alternatives for the West Main Street/Experiment Farm Road/South Stanfield Road intersection. If you drove over expecting clarity, you probably left with more questions than answers.
The core choice on the table remains the same: a roundabout or upgraded traffic signals. What became clear — perhaps more than anything else — is that neither option fixes the problem in any meaningful way. The City Engineer and the consultants confirmed as much when Council Member Bobby Phillips asked a straightforward question: what grade does the intersection get now, and what would it get after the improvements?
The current intersection earns a “D.” A new signalized configuration with other upgrades would bring it to a “C.” Marginally better. The roundabout would actually keep the intersection at a “D” — though the consultants were quick to note that roundabouts are graded on a different scale, and more overall traffic volume could move through it. It’s worth noting that even traffic engineers grade on a curve.
On safety, the consultants made their strongest case for the roundabout. Serious injury crashes are considerably lower in roundabouts — that’s well-documented nationally and the consultants aren’t wrong to point to it. But there was an admission that the overall number of accidents could increase, consistent with what Troy residents have observed at the McKaig/Dorset roundabout. The expectation is that most crashes would involve only property damage. That’s a meaningful distinction, but it’s also the kind of tradeoff that will get critical thought as council goes through this decision.
Then there’s the cost question, and this is where things get genuinely puzzling. Back in 2023, American Structurepoint estimated the roundabout at $4.2 million. Today? $4.29 million — a 2% increase over three years. Meanwhile, the signalization option jumped from $3.6 million to $4.2 million, a 19% increase. Given what’s happened with construction costs and inflation since 2023, the signal cost increase is entirely believable. What’s harder to explain is how the roundabout cost stayed virtually flat.
At this point, the two options are nearly identical in cost. The consultants argue that the roundabout wins on long-term maintenance savings — and that may be true. But the new green space created by the roundabout footprint went completely unaddressed. Since it would sit in public right-of-way, the city would likely inherit responsibility for maintaining it. That’s a real cost that deserves to be part of the calculation.
For their part, there were roughly a dozen residents that asked thoughtful questions. Those that were in favor of the roundabout, asked questions about truck traffic and how that would work in the real world and not just a computer model. Even those that were against roundabout, didn’t completely dismiss roundabouts all together, they felt that this location was poor for the city’s third roundabout.
AFter two and a half hours, here’s where we are: Troy is staring at a $4 million project, funded through grant dollars and tax increment financing, that will deliver — at best — a marginal improvement to one of the city’s most congested intersections. That’s not an argument against doing something. It’s an honest assessment for residents about what they’re getting.
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This Month, we are doing something different! We are partnering with the Troy-Miami County Public Library by using this platform to raise funds for the Dolly Partin Imagination Library locally here in Miami County! Through the Dolly Partin Imagination Library, children from birth to Kindergarten, can get a book delivered every month to their home at no cost.
And while Dolly is a huge help, she picks out the stories and she works with the publishers, there is still a local cost to the program. Your donations through our “Buy Me A Coffee Page” will help get these youngsters on the right track to a life-long love of reading!
Thanks to John And Kim, Rachelle. Loraine S., Loraine W., and a special anonymous donor, for your recent donations to this effort. So far this month — 71 books have been purchased! Thank you!