Background

On July 19, 2023, the Ukiah City Council approved a plan to construct seven new traffic circles– five on Perkins and two on Gobbi– at the close of a “workshop” it announced five days earlier.  Mayor Mari Rodin made a motion and the council voted in favor to authorize city staff to proceed with the street redesign plan.  The plan was formulated and presented to the council by Blue Zones LLC employee Dan Burden.

Why We Oppose This Plan

If this plan is adopted, traffic circles will dominate our small town.  It’s hard to imagine a vision that clashes more with the spirit of Ukiah and Mendocino County than an arbitrary collection of Disney-theme-park style traffic circles.

Burden’s forty-five minute slideshow included an impressive array of illustrations and photos.  What it lacked is a single piece of evidence (i.e. data) related to specific traffic conditions in Ukiah– any material documenting the locations and degree of motor vehicle congestion, or the locations and rates of motor vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle crashes, for example – that might justify expensive land acquisition and new right-of-way permitting in order to build one roundabout, much less seven or eight. 

In other words, if roundabouts solve a problem in Ukiah, these planners have not revealed what it is.

And while they aren’t solving any existing problems, these traffic circles will …

• require removal of two centuries-old valley oak trees at Gobbi and Orchard. Even as he stated clearly that the trees would definitely need to be cut down, Burden called the plan for a roundabout at this intersection “a good fit.” 
• exempt the city from environmental review requirements.  Since traffic circles serve as traffic-calming tools and are promoted as features of “complete streets” planning they qualify for an exemption to CEQA environmental review, a loophole that opened in 2018.  Cities around California are exploiting this loophole to avoid potential environmental remediation or legal conflicts that arise during CEQA review.
• be expensive.  At every intersection where a traffic circle is planned the city would need to acquire land and devote resources to securing permits for new right-of-ways. So while the city will avoid the expense of CEQA review, the overall costs will be significantly higher than a plan which does not include traffic circles.
• pose a hazard to bicyclists.  Since most intersections in Ukiah cannot accommodate a buffered bicycle lane, cyclists will be more vulnerable.  Studies indicate roundabouts pose added risk to bicyclists (links to studies are below).

 

We are asking the Ukiah City Council to …

1) Immediately terminate the consulting agreement with Blue Zones LLC and put their plan where it belongs:  In the circular file.

2) Direct the city manager to seek a reputable design firm (i.e. one that is more than two years old) to produce a gorgeous, inspiring plan for Gobbi and Perkins that takes into account existing traffic conditions in Ukiah, respects our natural resources and the needs of all users.

 

Sources:

2/24/16 City of Ukiah Planning Commission meeting (minutes are now apparently unavailable on the city’s website) during which Walk and Bike Mendocino opposes construction of a roundabout at Low Gap and Bush St. because it will not benefit bicyclists and pedestrians.

4/20/16 Ukiah City Council Meeting during which council approved an updated Bike and Pedestrian Master plan

7/19/23 Ukiah City Council Workshop during which council approved a plan to build seven roundabouts on Gobbie and Perkins.

8/16/23 Ukiah City Council Meeting during which council approved consulting agreement with Dan Burden (fee schedule included in Supplemental Memo)

2011 Australian study which finds:  “Roundabouts experience fewer and less severe vehicle crashes than typical intersections. Yet this safety benefit does not extend to bicycles.” 

2021 study by Utah State University funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation which concludes:  “Although converting an intersection to a roundabout may reduce [motor vehicle] crashes overall, some research from northern Europe suggests that roundabouts may actually increase the frequency of bicycle crashes.” 

Round and Round We Go by Andrew Lutsky - Anderson Valley Advertiser

Please Stop Leading Us in Circles: Ukiah’s Roundabout Proposal Endangers Cyclists and Will Not Benefit Our Streets by Andrew Lutsky - Mendofever.com