By Moses Leos III
A roundabout at the intersection of FM 1626 and Kohler’s Crossing in Kyle has been mothballed by the Texas Department of Transportation.
TxDOT is instead opting to move forward with a traffic signal at the intersection, despite the majority of the Kyle City Council supporting a roundabout in a resolution passed in July.
TxDOT’s decision on moving away from the roundabout was made public during the Sept. 1 Kyle City Council meeting. It stemmed from an email sent from TxDOT area engineer Victor Vargas to Kyle City Manager Scott Sellers on the installation of a signal.
“This does not remove the possibility of a roundabout at intersections in the future,” Vargas wrote in his email to Sellers. “TxDOT will continue to work with the City of Kyle as the community grows and the needs change.”
According to Sellers, several factors went into TxDOT’s decision. One of the primary reasons was that TxDOT had been working on the design and engineering for the traffic signal.
That process began in 2013 when TxDOT offered ideas for a traffic control device at the intersection. They had begun engineering for a traffic signal, but also for a one-lane roundabout at the intersection.
It was determined that the city needed to add additional safety features, increasing the price of the project from $400,000 to around $800,000.
But public feedback on the roundabout was lukewarm during a series of public input meetings. It forced TxDOT to continue moving forward with engineering a traffic signal, but also keep in contact with the city on the feasibility of a roundabout.
“It was determined at that time that there wasn’t enough support for the idea,” Sellers said.
TxDOT reached 80 percent engineering on the signal when the idea of a roundabout came up again in early 2015. In July, the Kyle City Council, facing an August deadline for TxDOT’s funding for projects, passed a resolution in support of a roundabout.
But the continued lack of public support, along with large questions on financing the project, ultimately shut it down.
Sellers said TxDOT has a fund for traffic signals, but not roundabouts. Sellers said identifying “appropriate funding sources” for a roundabout is a challenge for TxDOT, which often asks for local participation.
But neither the city nor TxDOT could find appropriate sources in a timely fashion. TxDOT informed the city that a traffic control measure was “warranted” in 2014.
“After exhausting multiple options, it appeared that there could be funding identified, but it would take longer to commit,” Sellers said. “Ultimately, TxDOT felt that the signal warranted a faster solution than waiting on funding for a roundabout.”
News of TxDOT’s decision drew a variety of responses, mostly in favor of the traffic signal, from a Hays Free Press Facebook post on the topic.
Kim Wallace wrote that the post was the “Best thing I’ve heard in a while” and that a roundabout was “a stupid idea for that super busy road.”
Margaret Le Compte-Somma wrote the decision was great news, and that roundabouts are a “nuisance” and that they slow traffic while “irritating the driver in the process.”
“Roundabouts do not really save any time and unless they are built very large, vehicles pulling trailers have a difficult time with them,” Guy Quigley wrote. “Yes I have used them and am a retired truck driver.”
Joanne Maree Soukup wrote a roundabout “would have been much better.” She referenced in later comments how roundabouts reduced injury crashed by 75 percent at intersections.
“Keeps the traffic moving,” Soukup wrote. “Not looking forward to waiting for another stop light.”
Jo Hunter also wrote in favor of the roundabout.
“Oh joy, I can’t wait to sit at a light for hours on end, when I could have sailed right around a roundabout,” Hunter wrote. “I hope you are all happy.”
