Price, traffic effect concern Columbia councilman in roundabout project

A Columbia city councilman expressed concern Tuesday over a proposed roundabout in west Columbia.

Fourth Ward Councilman Ian Thomas said about “eighty percent” of the people he’s heard from regarding the proposed roundabout at Chapel Hill and Fairview Roads opposed the plan. The city plans to build it at the start of 2017, pending council approval, costing $600,000 to replace the current four-way stop.

Thomas said he generally supports roundabout projects for calming traffic, increasing pedestrian safety and moving cars quicker through intersections than four-way stops. However, he was not sure if a roundabout at that intersection would reduce wait times at the intersection in such a way to justify the price tag.

“If the only reason for making the change is to alleviate a minor traffic congestion problem during a shot time period during the day…I’m not sure if that warrants spending a lot of public money to address a problem like that,” Thomas told ABC 17 News.

“That’s what I’m kind of weighing,” Thomas said. “Whether the cost-benefit ratio is in our favor.”

Columbia Public Works told ABC 17 News on January 28 at an interested party meeting that the project would upgrade the level of service ranking for the intersection from an “F” to a “B.” Engineering manager Richard Stone said moving cars along quicker with a roundabout will help traffic efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. Residents living near the project feared the roundabout would make it more dangerous for pedestrians. Since stop signs guarantee a halt in traffic, some thought the roundabout would take that safeguard away.