This document summarizes community concerns about a proposed city plan to widen 159th Street between Metcalf and Nall roads. It outlines safety and traffic data related to the current configuration, proposed roundabouts, and alternative traffic light intersections. The community is concerned roundabouts will reduce neighborhood access, increase traffic in neighborhoods, and prioritize school traffic over normal traffic. An alternative plan is proposed using traffic lights to maintain neighborhood access and movement of non-school traffic along 159th Street. Next steps discussed are continuing community outreach and presenting questions to city representatives.
4. Estimations
• 12,000 vehicles per day along 159th
• 1,467 students 2013-14
• 150 cars through school drop off
• 900 cars within school parking lot
• School start/end estimated to run 20-30 minutes each
5. 159th and 69 Highway
• 159th / 69 Highway interchange
Estimated 4,000 additional vehicles
Approx. 2,000 along 159th between Metcalf and Nall
• Getting entrance/exit ramps
Both directions
This fall
6. Not Enough Traffic for Light
• Traffic from school will NEVER be high enough to justify a traffic
light
What about the new ball fields being added?
• What is the traffic level to be considered?
• How are older areas in town justified?
• Are there other options to fund it?
Through the school?
Through the county?
Offset from taking out the traffic circles?
7. School Expansion
• Adding additional fields
• Do we know what the new drop off loop will look like? When?
8. Current – Santa Fe and Conser
• One lane 3 way intersection roundabout
9. Current – 110th & Lamar
• Two lane 4 way intersection roundabout – multilane turning
10. Current – 133rd & Lamar
• Single lane 4 way intersection roundabout
14. Conflict Point
• Any path where two vehicles must cross paths and a potential
collision could occur
Merging – two cars joining paths
Diverging – one car leaving the path (turning)
Crossing – one car must cross the direct path of another car
17. Statistically Speaking
• Single Lane 4 Path Roundabout
8 points of conflict
•Single Lane 4 way intersection
32 points of conflict
•However that’s not what we are
dealing with in this situation!!
20. Statistically Speaking
• Single Lane 3 Path Roundabout
6 points of conflict
•Single Lane 3 way intersection
9 points of conflict
•However STILL not what we are
dealing with in this situation!!
23. Statistically Speaking
• Multilane 3 Path Roundabout with
middle lane looping
20 points of conflict
• Multilane 3 way intersection
11 points of conflict
• Reduction in points of conflict!!
24. Current Route (Today)
• Metcalf & 159th – 4 Way – 36 Points
• Riggs/Lamar & 159th – 4 Way – 32 Points
• Horton & 159th – 3 Way – 9 Points
• West End School – 3 Way – 9 Points
• Middle of School – 3 Way – 9 Points
• School Drop Off Loop – 3 Way Entrance – 5 Points
• School Drop Off Loop – 3 Way Exit – 9 Points
• Woodson & 159th – 3 Way – 9 Points
• Outlook & 159th – 3 Way – 9 Points
• Nall & 159th – 4 Way – 32 Points
159 Points Total
25. City Proposal
• Metcalf & 159th – 4 Way – 2 Lane – 36 Points - U-TURN ENCOURAGED + 3
• Riggs/Lamar & 159th – 4 Way – 2 Lane – 36 Points
• Horton & 159th – 3 Way – 3 Points – NO LEFT TURN EAST BOUND
• West End School – Roundabout – 20 Points
• Middle of School – 3 Way – 3 Points – NO LEFT TURN WEST BOUND
• School Drop Off Loop – 3 Way Entrance – 5 Points
• School Drop Off Loop – Roundabout – 20 Points
• Woodson & 159th – 3 Way – 3 Points – NO LEFT TURN EAST BOUND
• Outlook & 159th – 3 Way – 3 Points – NO LEFT TURN WEST BOUND
• Nall & 159th – 4 Way – 2 Lane – 36 Points – U-TURN ENCOURAGED + 3
171 Points Total
27. Student Crossings Concern
• “Roundabouts statistically safer”
• Traffic light crosswalks perceived safer
• Foot traffic at increased levels at the same time of increased traffic
levels
Will increase difficulty for pedestrians
• Visually Impaired (ADA)
Harder to determine gap in traffic to cross
28. Increased Speed Limit
• Increasing speed from 35 to 45 increases the probability of fatal
pedestrian accidents*
Several people and bicycles cross at Riggs/Lamar
• Reduce speed during school hours
Like other school zones
http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch7en/conc7en/p
robabilityimpact.html
29. Reduced Neighborhood Entry/Exit
• Proposed plan – lose access at
Horton
Woodson
Outlook
• Sylvan Lakes (Woodson)
Lose full use of primary subdivision access
How will this affect home values? Need a full assessment
30. Encourage Roundabout and U-Turns
• Due to limited access to neighborhoods
• Increase traffic through roundabouts
• Adds additional collision points through Nall and Metcalf for U-
Turns
31. Increases Neighborhood Traffic
• Due to limited neighborhood access
• Increase traffic / decrease safety on neighborhood streets
• School buses will be routed through neighborhoods
32. Increased Emergency Response
• Due to two factors
Moving fire station to 163rd and Antioch
Average roundabout slows Emergency vehicle 4 to 12 seconds
• Horton and Woodson are no longer able to turn from the direction of
emergency services
Increases response time through roundabouts AND making a U-
Turn/Roundabout turn to return back
Seconds and Minutes count here
33. Favors School Traffic
• Roundabouts are designed to merge equal traffic from all directions
• School traffic is not equal to 159th street traffic
• School traffic will have two increases per day and special events
• What about normal traffic during weekends and summer?
34. City Representative – No Left Turn
• Representative mentioned no left turn if not a 4 way intersection
• Why is the high school provided with a left turn? – estimated to be
150 cars entering here. Traffic projection justified it
• Should they be using the roundabouts? Elementary school traffic “is
at a different time” and should use the roundabouts
35. Costs
• Roundabouts are more expensive to install
• Traffic lights are more expensive over 30 year maintenance plan
• Roundabouts are more expensive for inclement weather maintenance
• Overall – it’s close to a wash when factoring all issues
• Bigger questions
What is the life expectancy of these roundabouts?
Will snow plows cause damage due to difficult entry?
What about damage from work vehicles with trailers?
http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/2601057-
roundabouts-versus-traffic-lights-a-draw-/
36. Design Concerns
• Not enough right of way to build centered
• Slight left in both directions before entering to the right
Complex entry
Forces traffic to slow down
How will this affect larger vehicles and lane crossings?
37. Curb Size / Closeness
• How close with the actual street and sidewalk be to the houses along
159th?
• Will the curb height prevent cars from entering yard/houses?
• What about a small berm with leftover dirt?
• What do the homeowners think?
39. 4 Way Intersection Math
• According to The Record for 2006 through 2010*
• Comparing 4 way roundabout to 4 way intersection provides about
the same number of injury accidents per year
*http://www.therecord.com/news-story/2606479-the-
safety-showdown-roundabouts-vs-traffic-lights/
4 Way Roundabout 4 Way Intersection
Collisions / 1 mil vehicles 1.56 0.61
Major Injury / Death 9.0% 27.1%
Average Collisions / Year 9.5 3.4
Injury Accidents / Year 0.8550 (9.5 * 9.0%) 0.9214 (3.4 * 27.1%)
40. Safety Performance
“In general, roundabouts have improved both overall crash
rates, and particularly, injury crash rates in a wide range
of settings (urban, suburban, and rural) for all previous
forms of traffic control except for all-way stop control, for
which no statistically significant difference could be found.
In addition, single-lane roundabouts have better safety
performance than multilane roundabouts. The safety
performance of multilane roundabouts appears to be
especially sensitive to design details.” *
NCHRPReport572:RoundaboutsintheUnited
States.NationalCooperativeHighwayResearch
Program
41. Traffic Accidents
• 159th Metcalf to Nall Accident Type Count
Angle 14
Backed into 1
Fixed object 4
Head on 1
Other 2
Rear end 33
Sideswipe overtaking 1
Grand Total 56
42. Traffic Accidents
• Blue Valley North
Accident Type Count
Angle 8
Fixed object 2
Left turn opposing 1
Rear end 2
Sideswipe overtaking 1
Grand Total 14
43. Traffic Accidents
• Blue Valley Northwest
Accident Type Count
Angle 19
Backed into 1
Fixed object 7
Left turn opposing 20
Other 2
Rear end 42
Sideswipe overtaking 16
Grand Total 107
44. Traffic Accidents
• Blue Valley Southwest
Accident Type Count
Angle 5
Fixed object 2
Rear end 1
Sideswipe opp 1
Grand Total 9
45. Traffic Accidents
• Blue Valley West
Accident Type Count
Angle 14
Animal/Deer 1
Backed into 1
Fixed object 3
Rear end 21
Sideswipe opp 1
Sideswipe overtaking 4
Grand Total 45
46. Traffic Accidents
Accident Type Count
Fixed object 7
Rear end 2
Sideswipe overtaking 2
Grand Total 11
• Santa Fe Roundabout – one lane – 3 entrances
47. Traffic Accidents
• 110th and Lamar - Convention Center – Multi-lane
Activity Type Count
Bicycle 1
Fixed object 2
Loss of control 1
Rear end 3
Sideswipe overtaking 22
Grand Total 29
48. Traffic Accidents
• 133rd and Lamar
Accident Type Count
Head on 1
Rear end 2
Sideswipe overtaking 1
Grand Total 4
50. Traffic Accidents
• All of Overland Park
Accident Type Count
Angle 3,045
Animal/Deer 336
Backed into 395
Bicycle 89
Fixed object 3,477
Head on 91
Left turn opposing 1,589
Loss of control 262
Other 470
Pedestrian 92
Rear end 10,363
Report Data incomplete 3
Sideswipe opp 108
Sideswipe overtaking 2,641
Unknown 1
Grand Total 22,962
52. Community Proposal Goals
• Keep access to communities open
• Keep 159th traffic moving even when school is not in session
Do not give priority to school traffic unless actual traffic counts justify it
• Traffic circles are designed to slow traffic along 159th
• Also provides ability for school traffic to enter/exit
•But at what cost to the
neighborhood traffic??
54. Community Plan
• East Bound
North Turn Lanes
Lamar
Horton
Woodson
South Turn Lanes
West Side School Parking
Parent Drop Off Loop
• West Bound
South Turn Lanes
Outlook
East Side School
Parent Drop Off Loop
West Side School Parking
Riggs
• Two Way Traffic Sensing Light
Priority to 159th
West Side School Parking
East Side Parent Loop Exit
55. Similar to Intersection Below
• Barstow and Stateline – flashes yellow for Stateline traffic during
normal hours
56. Community Proposal
• Metcalf & 159th – 4 Way – 2 Lane – 36 Points
• Riggs/Lamar & 159th – 4 Way – 2 Lane – 36 Points
• Horton & 159th – 3 Way – 11 Points
• West End School – 3 Way – 11 Points
• Middle of School – 3 Way – 3 Points – NO LEFT TURN WEST BOUND
• School Drop Off Loop – 3 Way Entrance – 5 Points
• School Drop Off Loop – 3 Way – 11 Points
• Woodson & 159th – 3 Way – 11 Points
• Outlook & 159th – 3 Way – 11 Points
• Nall & 159th – 4 Way – 2 Lane – 36 Points
171 Points Total
57. City Proposal Review
• Metcalf & 159th – 4 Way – 2 Lane – 36 Points - U-TURN ENCOURAGED + 3
• Riggs/Lamar & 159th – 4 Way – 2 Lane – 36 Points
• Horton & 159th – 3 Way – 3 Points – NO LEFT TURN EAST BOUND
• West End School – Roundabout – 20 Points
• Middle of School – 3 Way – 3 Points – NO LEFT TURN WEST BOUND
• School Drop Off Loop – 3 Way Entrance – 5 Points
• School Drop Off Loop – Roundabout – 20 Points
• Woodson & 159th – 3 Way – 3 Points – NO LEFT TURN EAST BOUND
• Outlook & 159th – 3 Way – 3 Points – NO LEFT TURN WEST BOUND
• Nall & 159th – 4 Way – 2 Lane – 36 Points – U-TURN ENCOURAGED + 3
171 Points Total
59. Next Steps
• Continue to spread the word around our community
Fliers
Door to door
Facebook
Petition
• Talked with Brian and got some answers. Prepare a more formal
list of questions.
• Send people to city council meeting – open to the public just can’t
speak
• Attend in a unified front at the next public meeting
• Stop work lawsuits (if necessary)
Due to property valuation of loss of access
