Tony Tramel: "It appears a proposed roundabout at the subject location would be safer, more efficient, and more convenient than the existing conditions." The Lafayette City-Parish Council Tuesday will vote on an introductory ordinance that would allocate $150,000 to the Traffic & Transportation Department to conduct a state-mandated feasibility study on constructing a two-lane roundabout at the intersection of Coolidge Boulevard/South College Drive/Bendel Gardens Road. The feasibility study is required because South College is a state-maintained highway - La. 3025.
Photo by Robin May
LCG's Tony Tramel
Transportation Director Tony Tramel, according to an LCG internal memorandum, is recommending the roundabout: "It appears a proposed roundabout at the subject location would be safer, more efficient, and more convenient than the existing conditions. There is, however, a need to employ a civil engineer firm to develop controlled geometric designs and to evaluate and estimate utility relocation, right of way, and construction costs."
"Roundabouts typically reduce crashes by 50 % - 70% or more," Tramel indicates in the memorandum, noting that analysis of three years of crash data the intersection showed 50 preventable - rear-end, 90-degree, head-on and sideswipe - collisions at the intersection.