Round and Round We Go: Roundabout Issue Comes Back to Life

Prairie du Chien Courier Press - Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin

May 4, 2009

Just when it appeared as though the roundabout issue in Prairie du Chien had died, it may be springing back to life.

Mayor Karl Steiner said that he will be pursuing the contentious issue on the basis that roundabouts built in areas where there is pedestrian traffic may quite possibly be illegal under federal law.

Steiner said that he contacted Michigan attorney Richard Bernstein, who has played a large part in putting a stop to roundabouts recently in Green Bay, Wisconsin and in Oakland County, Michigan.

"This is not a dead issue yet," said Steiner, who noted that he has also contacted the Wisconsin Department of Transportation regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act as it pertains to roundabouts and pedestrians.

Bernstein is a blind attorney who works completely pro-bono in an effort to help people with limited access to have a decent quality of life. Bernstein is employed by the Law Offices of Samuel I. Bernstein of Farmington Hills, Michigan.

"I fight for people with disabilities and special needs," said Bernstein. "It is my entire life’s work and I’m very passionate about it."

Bernstein said that because the traffic continually flows, it is impossible for a blind person to cross the street at a roundabout, and therefore, they are illegal under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Bernstein put this to the test recently when he presented the city of Green Bay with information regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act and with information about the Hawk System, an untested traffic control device by which a blind person might be able to cross at a roundabout.

The Green Bay City Council had approved of constructing six roundabouts in a row on one of the city’s most busy downtown streets in an area where there was a large amount of pedestrian traffic. After being presented with this information, and under the threat of a possible lawsuit, the Green Bay City Council rescinded its approval of the roundabouts.

"They were gunning for a lawsuit but they backed down," said Bernstein, who noted that the mayor of Green Bay recommended that the council rescind its earlier approval of the roundabouts due to "new information."

Bernstein also said that his home county, Oakland County, Michigan, had constructed two roundabouts in high pedestrian areas about two years ago and had plans to construct many more throughout the county.

"There was huge fight with the Oakland County Road Commission," said Bernstein, who noted that the case was heard in federal court and involved the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.

The court ruled to stay the case for approximately one year, pending the outcome of the testing of a signal system regarding pedestrian crossings at roundabouts. One of the two roundabouts that had already been constructed will have to install the Hawk System at the county’s expense. Bernstein said that the installation of the Hawk System is expected to cost more than $1 million.

Bernstein explained that the Hawk System basically consists of a button that is pushed by a person wishing to cross the roundabout. When the button is pushed, it activates a signal by which all traffic is to come to a stop. The person then can safely cross.

The Hawk System in Michigan will be the first in the United States said Bernstein, and will be monitored to see if it works or not. If the Hawk System works, other roundabouts will be allowed to be constructed in Oakland County if they feature the Hawk System. If the Hawk System fails, there will be three options for the existing roundabouts. The county could build a bridge over the roundabouts for foot traffic. The county could build a tunnel under the roundabouts for pedestrians, or the county could tear out the roundabouts and reconstruct conventional intersections.

"We are like a test case," said Bernstein, who noted that footbridges and tunnels have been the norm at roundabouts in Europe for decades.

Bernstein said that two elderly people were recently struck by a car while attempting to cross one of the roundabouts in Oakland County. The two were severely injured and are still hospitalized, he said.

Bernstein said that his contact with Mayor Steiner is in the very early stages and that Steiner is in the process of researching the situation regarding the proposed roundabouts in Prairie du Chien.

Bernstein said that he does not like what the Wisconsin DOT is doing throughout the state, however, and he is opposed to roundabouts in downtown areas or other areas where there is pedestrian traffic.

"This is a very serious issue, somewhat scandalous actually," he said. "I think what the DOT is doing to you guys is horrible. I think they’re looking for a showdown."

"What the DOT is doing in Wisconsin is really outrageous," he continued. "It’s unbelievable, negligent, wasteful, and dangerous. It’s insane for a downtown area to install roundabouts."

Bernstein said that he would like to have the approval of the roundabouts rescinded without having to fight the issue. "We don’t like to fight unless we have to," he said, in noting that perhaps the Prairie du Chien City Council and the DOT would reconsider once it receives the new information regarding the roundabouts and the Americans with Disability Act and the Hawk System.

"The DOT would have to argue as a matter of constitutional law that it is possible for a blind person to cross at a roundabout and therefore roundabouts are legal," he said. "There is no gray area concerning the blind crossing a roundabout. It is physically impossible for the blind to cross a roundabout. What you’re saying is that a disabled person can’t live in your community or visit your community if you have roundabouts."

Bernstein said that he is not only fighting for the disabled but for everyone. "I have a saying, what is good for the disabled is good for everyone," he said. "We are not just fighting for the disabled. We are also fighting for children, pedestrians, senior citizens, and cyclists. We want to make intersections safe for everybody."

Bernstein said that he would hope that there could be a resolution and that the DOT would hold off building the roundabouts until the Hawk System can be fully tested.

He did, however, say that if push came to shove, there would be a fight.

"If they (the DOT) want to provoke a showdown, there’s going to be a showdown," said Bernstein. "The state is playing with fire. They are showing a reckless disregard for the disabled."

Bernstein said that the Oakland County case has made the roundabout issue a statewide issue in Michigan.

Ian Winger of the Wisconsin DOT said that in the spring or summer of 2008 he told the Prairie du Chien City Council about the Hawk System.

"Pedestrian traffic needs to be addressed at every location," he said.

Winger said that he would rather not comment about pedestrian safety at roundabouts but would instead send a Transportation Synthesis Report compiled by the DOT to the Courier Press. The report gives information regarding pedestrian safety at roundabouts, particularly the safety of visually impaired persons.

In the Summary section of the report, it states, "Our research identified a great deal of interest in roundabouts at the national level. Perhaps the most significant of these National Projects are guidelines proposed by the United States Access Board, an independent federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities, that would require installation of a pedestrian signal where pedestrian crossings are provided at multilane roundabout intersections. Once formally adopted, the Access Board’s guidelines become standards that will be applied by the U.S. DOT. A final rule is expected sometime in 2010."

The Summary section goes on to state that research was undertaken in response to the Access Board’s guidelines. Results from this research that evaluates roundabout crossing solutions for visually impaired pedestrians are expected by the end of 2009.

The Summary section also stated that a 2007 report "Roundabouts in the United States" said that a low level of vehicle/pedestrian conflict was reported in a study and that no pedestrian crashes were reported. Researchers noted, however, that the study did not address the accessibility of roundabouts for pedestrians with visual impairments.

The Summary section also noted that a heightened interest in pedestrian accessibility at roundabouts is reflected in a Michigan roundabout lawsuit. Two pedestrian signal treatments—a Hawk signal and a rectangular rapid flash beacon—will be tested on two roundabouts in Oakland County, Michigan as ordered by a federal court. A final report on the testing is due in approximately August of 2010.

The Summary section also stated that roundabout research is evolving. It said that completed research contains relatively little significant data relating to pedestrian safety at roundabouts.

Under the National Projects section of the report, it stated that in a study in the fall of 2008, researchers installed two treatments—a Hawk signal and a raised crosswalk-—at a two-lane roundabout site in Golden, Colo. The treatments were later removed. The evaluation found that after the Hawk beacon was installed, there was a 28 percent reduction in all crashes and a 58 percent reduction in pedestrian crashes.

As of 2007, there were approximately 1,000 roundabouts in the United States, about one-fourth of which were multilane. The three roundabouts proposed for Prairie du Chien are all multilane, and, therefore would require a pedestrian activated signal system under the United States Access Board guidelines.