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Attorneys for McDonald’s owner issue written comment on roundabout

OBSERVER Photo by Jimmy McCarthy Traffic moves through the intersection of Routes 20 and 60 on Saturday. The comment period regarding the proposed roundabout has passed as the state DOT will look to garner project approval sometime this spring in hopes to begin construction later this year or early 2019.

The written comment period ended April 26 in relation to the proposed Route 20 and 60 roundabout project. The New York State Department of Transportation will now review the correspondence and push for project design approval.

For the DOT, the rationale behind a modified two-lane roundabout with raised medians is to reduce the number and severity of accidents at the intersection. Raised medians along the approaches will prevent motorists from making left turns into driveways of nearby businesses, including McDonald’s.

The DOT states within its final report on the project that 41 accidents at the intersection and 61 crashes along the approach segments occurred from 2010 to 2013.The DOT further says that 54 of the 61 accidents are attributed to motorists entering or exiting the driveways at the approaches to the intersection.

While a public hearing held in Fredonia last month allowed residents to put their comments on record, there was also a chance to submit written comments to DOT headquarters in Buffalo. Among those sending letters to the DOT were attorneys from Phillips Lyte LLP who represent Enrico Francani, McDonald’s owner. In a letter to Frank Cirillo, DOT regional director, Attorney Adam S. Walters, who represents Francani, states that the DOT is re-adopting a “flawed plan” that was issued last year.

“Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, the final report fails to give meaningful consideration to alternatives or modifications which would resolve community concerns and fails to take a hard look at potential adverse environmental impacts stemming from the median project including potentially significant adverse impacts on the community,” writes Walters.

The letter also relays Francani’s desires dating back to last year to work with the DOT to bring a design solution that would be safe and considerate of legitimate community concerns. The letter from Francani’s attorneys states that the DOT wasn’t open to collaborative discussions at that time and rejected requests for modifications. That led to a lawsuit that was filed last year by Francani, which led to the recession of project approvals by the DOT.

“Unfortunately, the final report was released quietly earlier this year without any real, meaningful engagement with the public or stakeholders,” the letter states. “Based on our analysis, it is clear that the final report is highly flawed and fails to meet NYSDOT’s legal obligations for project design and review under applicable laws.”

Throughout the way, Francani retained TY Lin International, traffic engineers, to review and analyze the DOT’s final report on the roundabout project. Based on its analysis, the firm found that the DOT failed to consider less costly alternatives that would improve traffic safety without impacting the community. They found that the DOT’s justifications for rejecting modifications to the project such as allowing left turns into McDonald’s are flawed, and there’s no basis to support the determination that left-turn lanes for McDonald’s would compromise the project’s safety goals.

Sanjay Singh, DOT project manager, told attendees during last month’s public hearing that the project meets the DOT’s safety objective for the project while also addressing the mobility issue of the median. Singh noted the safest turn to make is a right turn.

“You do not have opposing traffic, you don’t go head on against opposing traffic or give them the right angle for a T-bone type situation. That’s why roundabouts are safer,” he said.

In a four-legged traditional intersection, Singh noted that there are 32 points of conflict where there’s potential for a crash. By entering a roundabout and making right turns, Singh said there’s only eight points of contact.

The cost of the roundabout project is around $3.4 million, of which 90 percent is financed through federal funds. If approval is garnered to proceed, a timeline set forth by the DOT shows construction initiating in late 2018 or early 2019. Project completion is expected sometime in the fall of 2019.

In Western New York, there are 21 roundabouts on state roads with the latest ones installed on Porter Avenue at Interstate 190 in the city of Buffalo and on South Park and Sowles Road in the town of Hamburg.

Based on feedback from the public, and the issues raised by Francani, Walters said he hopes the DOT won’t push the project forward, but instead engage the community and try to develop a plan that makes sense.

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