CLEVELAND — Five mini roundabouts are now installed along Bridge Avenue between West 38th Street and West 58th Street in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood as part of a new low-cost traffic calming pilot program.
Unlike traditional roundabouts built with concrete, these mini roundabouts use painted markings and flexible posts — but serve the same purpose.
Cleveland City Councilman Austin Davis said crews with the City of Cleveland painted a white circle in the middle of each intersection, then placed delineators around the circle to signal to drivers that a roundabout is ahead.
The mini roundabouts were installed last week. Davis said the pilot program is first and foremost about safety. A June speed study found drivers reaching high speeds along the road, including one driver going 80 miles per hour in the residential area.
The cost difference between these mini roundabouts and traditional roundabouts is also significant. Davis said federally funded roundabouts along Franklin Avenue carried a price tag of $3.4 million. The Bridge Avenue mini roundabouts, along with the installation of curb extensions and speed tables, cost $30,000.
Davis said the high cost of traditional roundabouts is often a barrier for the city, and that several intersections in Cleveland could benefit from a roundabout.
Traffic lights present a similar cost challenge. Davis said the lights in this section of Bridge Avenue were at the end of their lifespan.
"Traffic lights are also incredibly expensive," he said. "When the city puts them together, it can be around $500,000 per traffic light. When we have a third-party contractor put them up because the city staff is just stretched too thin, it could be closer to $200,000 for a traffic light. That's not counting the thousands of dollars per year it takes to maintain those lights."
The mini roundabouts are not the final traffic calming measure coming to Ward 7. Davis said more speed tables will be installed, along with 225 delineators designed to help drivers spot pedestrians more easily.
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