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A roundabout way to be safe

Proposal made to change intersection at Routes 20 & 60

Pictured above are some of the accidents that have occurred at the intersection of Routes 20 and 60 in Fredonia.

Statistics don’t lie; the question is what to do with the information. When the Department of Transportation looks at the number of accidents at the intersection of Route 20 and 60, its suggestion is a roundabout.

According to Fredonia Mayor Athanasia Landis, the DOT recently reached out to her and she reached out to the town of Pomfret to have a meeting to discuss what can be done to make the intersection safer.

“There are way too many accidents, way above the state average and they are concerned, as are we, of course. They are looking into possible solutions we can possibly do to eliminate or at least reduce the number of accidents. I mean we’ve had 106 over three years in the area of the intersection, that is way above anything that is acceptable,” Landis said, adding the meeting occurred recently. DOT Public Information Officer Susan Surdej explained the project is in very preliminary stages.

“Information was presented to the municipalities in advance of a public information meeting which has not yet been scheduled. This is a safety improvement project. … The proposed design will be presented at a public meeting in the future,” she explained in an email.

That meeting will be held Wednesday, Dec. 7 from 4 to 7 p.m. in the trustees’ room at the Fredonia Village Hall. The formal presentation will take place at 6 p.m.

Pictured above are some of the accidents that have occurred at the intersection of Routes 20 and 60 in Fredonia.

She explained a high accident rate and multiple driveways in the area have led to the proposal of a roundabout.

“The proposed treatment is to install raised median barrier on the approaches and constructing a roundabout. There will be other improvements such as pedestrian facilities and drainage,” she added.

At a recent Pomfret Town Board meeting, officials did not give an opinion on a roundabout, but did have a concern about the location of the town’s water and sewer lines.

Landis said aside from accidents, her concern is for the businesses in the immediate area, but after research is open to the idea.

“I support a roundabout, although it’s very preliminary, that’s one of their proposals. I think a roundabout will slow the traffic without stopping it. I researched it a bit and found that roundabouts make the intersection about 80 percent safer and 30 percent faster moving. Also it gives the perception that we are taking care of the village; it’s something new, it’s going to look good, so I’m looking positively at that. At the same time it is very preliminary, as I said they want to sit down and I want to find out if there are going to be any problems with the businesses around there because obviously that is one of the concerns as well. The main concern is of course the accidents, but we have businesses around there and we want to make sure they continue to have the patronage and the customers that they do now. I definitely have a positive view towards that,” she said.

Pictured above are some of the accidents that have occurred at the intersection of Routes 20 and 60 in Fredonia.

Landis said she hoped her questions would be answered and reiterated that the project would be presented in a public hearing before going forward.

Surdej said the project is scheduled to go to bid in October 2017.

In June 2014, Governor Andrew Cuomo designated $720,000 for the intersection for improvement of safety and traffic flow. A week later, a DOT official said the project would include longer turn lanes, crosswalks and sidewalk and lighting improvements. At the same time then-Mayor Stephen Keefe speculated  the project could be a roundabout.

For those who cannot make it to the meeting on Dec. 7, mail to Francis P. Cirillo, Regional Director, New York State Department of Transportation, 100 Seneca Street, Buffalo, NY 14203.

This photo, taken in 2014 by Al Liedke, shows the roundabout in Irving. A roundabout is proposed for the Fredonia intersection.

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