Windsor roundabout to debut in May

In one of the more memorable scenes from the movie “National Lampoon’s European Vacation,” Chevy Chase’s character, Clark Griswold, tries to navigate a roundabout in London, only to keep driving around and around, because other vehicles block his way out of the traffic circle.

“Hey look kids, there’s Big Ben, and there’s Parliament!” he says as he tries to exit toward the landmarks, only to be hemmed in repeatedly - seemingly for hours - by double decker buses, taxi cabs and other drivers.

Day fades to night with the small rental car still circling the roundabout, the kids and wife now asleep in the car, and an incredulous Griswold concluding, “It’s amazing; I cannot get left.”

While traffic circles are still somewhat of a rarity for many Americans, they are appearing from Petaluma to Bend, Ore., from Florida to Hawaii.

The newest roundabout in Sonoma County - on Old Redwood Highway in Windsor - is the town’s first. Set to debut in May, it’s much smaller and less daunting than the multilane roundabouts in Europe.

But to avoid any problems, or Clark Griswold-like frustration, Windsor’s traffic consultants are educating the public on how to use it, through public meetings, a new website - windsororh.com - and even a walking tour of the roundabout.

Traffic engineers and insurance experts tout the circular intersections as safer than conventional, signalized crossroads, with benefits that include more efficient vehicle flows, fewer collisions and fatalities, less idling and air emissions.

Still, roundabouts in some communities have met with opposition by those who view them as confusing, dangerous, or unnecessary.

Cotati voters enacted a permanent ban on roundabouts in 2012, likely the first in the nation to take that step. A roundabout planned in Forestville and another proposed next to the Sonoma Plaza have also met with resistance.

In Healdsburg, residents overall appear supportive of a long-planned roundabout at a downtown, five-way intersection tentatively set to begin construction in the spring of 2016.

In Windsor, Town Council members approved the new roundabout five years ago along with a second one on Old Redwood Highway. Earlier this month, the council affirmed its support for the traffic circles as well as some new back-in angle parking on the stretch of road, intended primarily to keep bicyclists from colliding with motorists pulling out from parking spots.

Newly elected Windsor Councilman Mark Millan strongly endorses roundabouts, but noted the reluctance many people have to accept them.

“Mostly when I talk to people in town, they’re kind of negative about it, unless they’ve been to Europe or somewhere where there’s roundabouts,” he said, adding “they are statistically much safer intersections.”

Councilman Dominic Foppoli said that on a recent visit to Kenya he was able to negotiate traffic roundabouts - even while driving a stick shift on the left-hand side of the road.

The only two members of the public who spoke at the council meeting were in favor of roundabouts, including Michael Henry, who has experienced them in Boston and Europe.

“You always felt safest moving through the roundabouts because someone wasn’t going to blast through a red light and broadside you,” he said.

The roundabouts and new parking setup are part of a half-mile redesign of Old Redwood Highway spurred by Bell Village, a commercial and residential project being built northeast of the Town Green.

Developers are still awaiting approval from the Town Council on revised plans they submitted for 387 apartments in Bell Village. But work on the shopping center, including an Oliver’s Market, is underway.

The new roundabout will be at Old Redwood Highway and Market Street, adjacent to the Bell Village commercial segment. A second roundabout, expected to be completed by early next year, is planned a little farther north, on Old Redwood and Windsor Road, closer to the residential portion of the project.

To help people understand the new traffic features, the council approved a public outreach program that also explains the new back-in angle parking, designed to give motorists better vision of bicyclists, pedestrians and other vehicles as they exit a parking space and enter moving traffic.

“The primary education outreach happening now is about the roundabout. Secondarily is the back-in angle parking,” said Steve Weinberger, Windsor’s traffic consultant.

The new parking requires motorists to pull past a space before backing in at an angle. The advantage is that upon leaving, the driver simply pulls forward into traffic, with a better view of cyclists and pedestrians. And unlike parallel parking, it eliminates the risk of motorists opening the car door into the path of a cyclist.

Councilwoman Deb Fudge noted that much of Seattle has reverse-angle parking, along with other cities.

People “will like it, once they get used to it,” she said.

Two council members - Sam Salmon and Bruce Okrepkie - admitted they had accidents in the past backing out of parking spaces and the new back-in angle parking will cut down on such mishaps.

“Safety is the big concern, especially with bicyclists,” Okrepkie said. “They’re very vulnerable and it (cycling ) is more prevalent than it’s ever been.” Still, a majority of the council decided to implement the reverse-angle parking on a trial basis before reconsidering it after one year.

The public informational meeting is scheduled for Thursday, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Town Hall, followed by a walking tour of the new street features sometime in May.

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark. mason@pressdemocrat.com.