Improving the Intersection of Alameda & Atherton Avenue

Tuesday, 5/8/12 Atherton Transportation Committee Meeting by Gary Lauder

Introduction

Who I am • Atherton resident with 36-year fascination with traffic patterns • • • No formal training in field...that doesn ’ t mean I ’ m wrong International travel shown what ’ s possible w/roundabouts The CA Department of Transportation is enthusiastic Most other states ’ DOTs are too Why me?

• Who else?

Why this is worth doing

Problem affects thousands of people each day Avoid time wastage (time = $, so hidden tax) Better for the environment Better fuel efficiency • Another tax • Geopolitical implications Safer Create a model to be imitated elsewhere

This is 8:30AM last week

This is 8:30 AM last week

This is 5:40 PM last week

This is 5:40 PM last week

Main Problem: Rush hour congestion

I measured 4.5 minutes to get through northbound at 5:30pm Traffic was backed up to Camino Al Lago = 1800 feet Compared to speed limit, that means delay of 3.8 minutes/car There were ≈ 56 cars in the jam ≈ 750 cars/hour get through at rate of 12.5 cars/minute Q: What is the cost of that lost time?

Cost of lost time DURING JAM

3.8 minutes/car x 750 cars/hour = 48 car hours per hour of jam (in that direction) x 1.2 occupants per car = 57 person hours per hour of jam (in that direction) x $20/hour (average wage in USA) = $1,145/hour opportunity cost of time lost x 260 delay hrs/yr = $297,818/year per direction (assuming jam is only 1 hour) x 2 directions = $595,636 per year

Lost time from stopping at sign when no queue

7,000 cars/day – 1,500 cars already counted during jam = 5,500 x 10 Seconds/car = 15.3 Hours/day = 5,580 Hours/year x $20/hour (average wage in USA) x 1.2 occupants/car = $133,925 opportunity cost of time lost / year just from stopping Add to that the time lost waiting in the jams of $595,636 = $729,561 of people ’s time wasted Each year wastes the equvalent of 8.5 person-years Steve Jobs story from bio (saving lives by saving time)

Cost of Gas

> 7,000 cars/day on Alameda ≈2 ounces of gas ≈ 5¢ to accelerate X 7,000 cars/day = $350/day = $127,838 /year But that is only the gasoline cost Other costs include pollution and wear on car Added to the cost of lost time, total = $857,399 per year!!!

PV of that annuity discounted @ 5% = $17,147,970 !!!

Why have people not complained?

Why would people if they did not imagine a solution?

Not enough roundabouts here for people to realize it ’s a solution No roundabouts in San Mateo County nor SF, only one in Santa Clara.

Roundabouts were not even mentioned in this book I bought in 1989

Safety: Traffic Lights & Stop Signs vs. Roundabouts

A study of 24 intersections converted to roundabouts found: • Crashes dropped 40% • • Injury crashes dropped 76% Fatal crashes dropped 90% Main reasons: • Slower speeds • • Lower angles Fewer conflict points

Reasons Roundabouts Are Safer

Roundabout Capacity

Capacity in cars/hour is ≈ 1,200 per direction minus cars that turn left in opposite direction That ’ s improvement of >50%, so would eliminate congestion

Cost

Depends on type of roundabout: • Mini-roundabout can be as little as $50K • Standard ≈ $100K (very approximate) Might require some adjacent corner land outside of fence Even if only 10% of the people inconvenienced are Athertonians, still worth it.

Other issues

Major source of complaints: shortcuts to go around congestion This should alleviate the underlying congestion Shift jam elsewhere?

• A: Neither 100% nor 0%, but have to start somewhere

Recommendations

Traffic study to quantify extent of problem Retain expert on roundabouts to opine

Thank you

Gary Lauder [email protected]

W 146th St W 141st St W 136th St E 136th St Main St W 131st St W 126th St Ol d M er idi an S t 122nd St Carmel Dr W 116th St US 42 1 W 106th St M ich iga n R d MAP LEGEND Interstate U.S./State Highway Primary Arterial Primary Parkway Urban Arterial Urban Arterial (Proposed) W 96th St Secondary Arterial Secondary Arterial (Proposed) Secondary Parkway Secondary Parkway (Proposed) Urban Collector Urban Collector (Proposed) I-465 111th St Residential Parkway Residential Parkway (Proposed) Collector Street Collector Street (Proposed) Collector Street per NOAX Agreement Residential Street Residential Street (Proposed) Off-Street Commuter Trail Grade-Separated Crossing Interchange Location Overpass Location Roundabout Intersection (Existing) Roundabout Intersecton (Proposed) River E 146th St E 131st St E 126th St el az H l P el D y kw E 116th St Carmel, IN map showing the many roundabouts they installed. Only one traffic light left.

THOROUGHFARE PLAN MAP 1/4 MILE 1/2 MILE 3/4 MILE 1 MILE Map Prepared by Ground Rules, Inc.

Last Revised 02-15-2010 C A R M E L C L AY C O M P R E HE N S I V E P L A N 6 3

What about time & gas?

Traffic keeps flowing Less braking = less accelerating = less gas = less pollution Less time wasted (time = $) Partly accounts for Europe ’ s better MPG than in USA

Roundabouts are…

Better than traffic lights Better than 4-way stop signs Expensive to install More expensive not to Not applicable in all situations

Solving the problem can be worth more than adjacent property

Could buy it Cut down the shrubbery Improve the corner sight distance Then sell it & still come out ahead (compared w/putting in a traffic control to deal w/limited visibility)

Full and Complete Stop?

Few people do The law should not compel what is bad for: • the environment • • • the driver economy and serves no one Police know this and take advantage when they need to raise money quickly

Cutting Room Floor: Quotations

Useless laws weaken necessary laws. – Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu Discovery is seeing what everybody else has seen, and thinking what nobody else has thought. – Albert Szent-Gyorgyi The world is only changed by people who are naïve enough to think that they can change the world.

— Said by Eric Lander at the Aspen Ideas Festival 7/2/09.

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. – George Bernard Shaw , Man and Superman (1903) "Maxims for Revolutionists ” (Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 – 1950))