The City of Troy and the Ohio Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting about the roundabout proposed at West Main Street, Experiment Farm Road and South Stanfield Road. It is scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, at 5:30 p.m. in the Bravo Room. The city says the plan would rebuild the intersection as a roundabout, add new sidewalks and crosswalks, improve pedestrian lighting and signs, and install a new storm sewer. To learn more or send a comment, you can visit the project page at https://www.structurepointpublic.com/mainatexperimentfarm
Here is why this meeting matters. In July, a majority of council members said they were leaning toward the roundabout. That was merely a straw poll, not a vote, and nothing is final. But once a design moves forward, it gets much harder to change. In other words, if you wait until the concrete is poured, you have waited too long.
This publication has written about this several times, and our view has not changed. This publication has also polled our readers on this roundabout. This publication’s survey in July showed that nearly two out of three readers stated that they like roundabout, but this location doesn’t make sense. That should give our policy maker’s pause to consider this costly and disruptive option.
To put it plainly, a roundabout is needed at this intersection. The city’s own numbers show why. Today the intersection earns a D for how well it moves traffic. A better signal would raise that to a C. The roundabout would stay at a D. That means we could spend millions and still see cars stack up. The frustration would just look different as we collectively go around in circles.
The case is not as strong as it first sounds. Staff said a roundabout cuts crashes by 68.6 percent, and a better signal cuts them by 67.9 percent. That is almost the same. The consultants also said serious injuries may go down while fender-benders will more than likely go up. Anyone who drives through Dorset and McKaig knows what that can look like.
Then there is the question of who really benefits. Councilman Schilling pointed out that the big drop in delay happens on the northbound Stanfield side. About 23,000 vehicles use West Main every day, and they would barely notice a change. Nobody answered that claim in the room and it deserves some discussion before any money is spent.
We also need to talk about the project itself. The consultants said a roundabout needs a detailed plan for keeping traffic moving during construction. In plain words, that means nine to twelve months of detours, delays and confusion. This is where many of us shop and where many of us work.
Many of us are just getting over the years long West Main Street rebuild, and the Public Square project just kicked off, which orange barrels covering downtown for the next two years. Staff has said construction would not begin before the second half of 2029, so there is time to get this right.
A roundabout is also hard to undo. A signal can be retimed and adjusted as the area grows and changes. A roundabout is poured once and is meant to last twenty years or more. If the traffic does not behave the way the model says it will, we will be stuck with it - for decades.
Here is your chance to show up. Come to the Bravo Room on November 4 and ask the questions that have gone unanswered. Ask why a better signal and smarter timing along the whole corridor is not the first choice. Ask what the construction will do to the businesses and to the people driving to work. Ask when someone will answer Councilman Schilling’s delay question.
If you cannot make it that night, use the project page to send a comment. A written comment counts, and it takes only a few minutes.
Be kind and be specific. The people at the front of the room are our neighbors, and they are doing their jobs. But good decisions come from honest questions, and this community has plenty of them.
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