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Route 60/20 Roundabout Plan Gnaws At County Planning Board

POMFRET — Chautauqua County Planning Department officials hope their input on a proposed traffic pattern change at Routes 60 and 20 will help mitigate any economic damage to businesses near that intersection.

The county Planning Board — during a recent meeting at the LoGuidice Educational Center in Pomfret — unanimously voted to send a letter to the New York State Department of Transportation expressing their concerns over the project and what could be changed. The state’s plan calls for a two-lane roundabout on the edge of the village of Fredonia with raised medians along all four approaches, thereby eliminating left turns.

Although the DOT’s public comment period for the project ended last month, General Municipal Law 239-c (3)(h) allows a county planning board an opportunity to offer suggestions on the construction or reconstruction of any state highway before its final approval.

“With any government entity, it’s sometimes good to push back because they have what they want to do and that doesn’t always fit the community’s needs, so that’s what we’re trying to do, to make sure the community’s needs are addressed with any design that occurs,” county Senior Planner Patrick Gooch explained. “Based on my planning knowledge, I do believe the roundabout will be a good thing in the long run and it will move traffic more efficiently, however I think the medians could be very detrimental to the businesses in the short run and possibly the long run, as well.”

Gooch provided board members with a quick rendering he had done after talking with DOT officials during a public information meeting last month in Fredonia. The visual shows the longest potential raised median stretching from the roundabout north to the Wal-Mart traffic light on Route 60 — about 1,640 feet. The other three medians stretch west to the Fredonia School access road on Route 20; east to McAllister Road on Route 20; and south to just passed the Valone Ford Lincoln parking lot.

Those distance estimates are not verified by the DOT and are based solely on a talk with the DOT, Gooch stressed.

“We don’t have specific engineering diagrams,” he remarked.

“I think it’s going to have an impact very much on the businesses, and I think of one small business there — B&S Tire — it’s going to have a real impact, because the only way to get there (would be) to turn south on Route 60 …,” board member Jeff Gossett noted. “I think Wendy’s will hurt with it, (and) I think Paper Factory will be hurt. The bigger people will survive; the smaller people (will take) a big hit.”

Board member John Penhollow added the plan will congest traffic, particularly on the driveways. Richard Ketcham, another board member, agreed he is concerned as well about the businesses losing customers who simply do not wish to make a U-turn to get to them.

Gooch stated a multi-lane, rural roundabout must have a minimum median length of 250 feet on each side, as recommended by the Federal Highway Administration. In that instance, the medians would stretch to just passed Country Fair on the north, just passed Wendy’s on the east, right before Valone on the south and right before Rite Aid’s driveway on the west (based on Gooch’s rough estimates).

“You have to have some sort of median there to control what goes on at a roundabout,” Gooch pointed out. “You can’t have one without unless it’s a very small roundabout on a local municipal street. So, medians have to be a part of this roundabout if they build the roundabout.”

Ketcham suggested asking the DOT to look into shortening at least the eastbound median to the minimum length, since not as much traffic flows there. Access to The Paper Factory thus would not be impacted by the median; it could minimize the impact on businesses while still improving safety, Ketcham speculated.

The state DOT initiated the Routes 20 and 60 project due to an above-average number of accidents that occur in and around the intersection. Most of those accidents involve left turns — hence the proposed medians.

Ketcham noted it is clear something must be done to lower the number of accidents that occur around that area.

“It would seem a shame to do it (the roundabout), and the medians are so short that the accidents still occur …,” he said. “I’ve seen the accidents.”

Gossett said he understands why the longer median on Route 60 could be necessary. He admitted that on a number of occasions, he has turned right out of Valu Home Center to head home instead of turning left and “playing chicken” with the oncoming traffic.

Gooch stated the Planning Board’s letter asks the DOT to justify its plan. That way, the board can understand if it truly is the best design.

“Sometimes what will work can also be overkill,” Gooch added.

The project is expected to be finalized this summer, with construction beginning in the fall and ending late next year.

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