Oneida Square Round-about!

[Clipper]

What the hell is with the matter with the mayor? Has he lost his mind completely? We have a city with failing infrastructure, such as leaking and outdated sewer lines, potholes up the ying-yang, and neighborhoods falling into decay, and this idiot wants to spend a few million, moving a historic statue and memorial, out into the middle of an intersection, so everyone can drive around it.

I thought Julian was nuts when he proposed spending $300,000 on the little park he planned on Plant St., State St., and Genessee St. Now this nitwit wants to spend what will surely be a ridiculous sum, on turning a perfectly efficiently operating traffic pattern, into a "carousel for bumper cars".

Does every politician need to leave a legacy of extravagance, and mispent money? How about a mayor being remembered for paving streets, and cleaning up neighborhoods? How about a mayor that replaces sidewalks, instead of building shrines to themselves?

Somebody take the checkbook away from this moron, before he pisses your tax dollars away on frivolity.

We are going from an overpaid demagogue with vast law enforcement experience, to a "rent a cop night watchman" with connections, and minimal experience for our police chief. Something smells funky here. If it smells like shit, looks like shit, and feels like shit, it probably IS shit.

Roefaro needs a reality check. Someone start a recall proceeding and get his ass out of there before it is too late.

[lilbump1980]

Clipper I could not have said it better myself... Honestly I couldn't... Thank God you did.. LOL

[Swimmy]

I don't think there is a means for recalling the mayor, is there?

[lucy]

That is horrible, he promised a change, and he is delivering on that promise. Throwing money right down the drain. There is no way to get rid of this clown?

[Ralph]

Yeah......"move". It'll work for me anyway!

I can't think of a more stupid idea myself.

Well..............voting him in for a second term would be one.

[Swimmy]

How can you vote for a man who never sees people walking in the streets or notices the potholes? Instead, he spent $60,000 to renovate city hall.

[lucy]

I feel bad for my family that lives in Utica, but then again they don't go out and vote.

[Clipper]

I don't know if there is a recall provision in the law up there. We have a recall provision in Bristol Tn, and they used it a few years back, when a bunch of "pocket lining" politicians wanted to take some land near the NASCAR speedway by emininent domain. They had it all in the planning stages to condemn the land under eminent domain, and then sell it to their buddy the developer, and give him tax breaks to build a condo community. the mayor survived the recall, but two council persons bit the dust. Politics has been a lot cleaner around here since that time. We actually have a good city council, and they work well with the Sullivan County folks. It is amazing what can be done when county and city heads get together for the common good, instead of fighting over territory.

Did they ever revise the charter back to where the common council has the purse strings, or is the mayor still able to write the checks with a free reign over financial decisions?

Hanna slid that crap over on us, and Julian took advantage of it, to get us into the messes he got us into. Now Roefaro wants a round-about. He should move to Boston. They have several, and every one of them is like playing russian roulette to get around.

Can anyone imagine what it would cost to move the Soldier's and Sailor's Memorial ? I mean this ain't some styrofoam statue that we can wheel out in the middle of the road on handcart and plant some marigolds around. Be real!!!!!

[dgriffin]

OK, I'll bite and play devil's advocate. Is there a traffic reason why they want to go to a roundabout rather than traffic lights? (I do know the state LOVES roundabouts, the smaller the better.) If so, movement of the statue is a secondary objective and possibly funded by some other entity. So, does anyone have any information?
Maybe tanoury has some G2.

[wcup102]

!!!! Does he think this is Paris, France or Rome, Italy??? He needs to get his nose out of the "snow". He's been dealing with dead people for too long!!!! I think more accidents will occur, based on how I have seen the round-about used at the base. Nobody yields, just keep driving. Wait til a F.O.P gets in it and can't steer out of it, they'll get dizzy and take the monument down during the pileup. Ridiculous to say the least.

[dgriffin]

From the Massachussetts South Coast Herald News

“Roundabout pitched for dangerous intersection”
Apr 28, 2008

Article describes Masschussetts State Highway department public meeting where
they pitched a roundabout to reduce accidents in a dangerous intersection.
Following quotes describe their reasoning:

““Mass highway and local communities are starting to embrace this as a better alternative to a multi-way stop. They work much better,” he said, before displaying both photographs and video images of roundabouts in New England and beyond.
Hadfield said with roundabouts instead of four-way stops, there are 39 percent fewer overall crashes, 30 to 40 percent fewer pedestrian crashes, 70 percent fewer crashes with injuries and 90 percent fewer fatalities and serious injuries.
He said because roundabouts force motorists to reduce speed to approximately 10 to 15 miles per hour, it reduces gasoline consumption by 30 percent and reduces other emissions.
Hadfield also said roundabouts differ from rotaries. He said the roundabouts are usually 100 feet to 140 feet in width while a rotary can be about 650-feet wide. He said motorists can travel more than 40 miles per hour around a rotary, unlike speeds of 10 to 25 miles per hour around a roundabout.
He said speed has historically been a problem, especially on County Road, formally used as Route 140 where there is no stop sign and the average speed is 40 miles per hour. He said motorists on the two-lane portion of the road have difficulty viewing oncoming traffic.
He also said a four-way stop sign may not be effective because motorist are not used to stopping on County Road.”

This does not match Oneida Square, of course, but it is an example of studies showing that roundabouts replacing rotaries and even intersections where drivers speed through can reduce accidents and save lives.



Studies may also indicate that roundabouts are safer for pedestrians.

[dgriffin]

From Wiki entry for Roundabouts:

"Roundabouts are safer than both traffic circles and traditional intersections—having 40% fewer vehicle collisions, 80% fewer injuries and 90% fewer serious injuries and fatalities (according to a study[5] of a sampling of roundabouts in the United States, compared with the intersections they replaced). Roundabouts also reduce points of conflict between pedestrians and motor vehicles and are therefore considered to be safer for them.

At intersections with stop signs or traffic lights, the most common -- and serious -- accidents are right-angle, left-turn, or head-on collisions that can be severe because vehicles may be moving fast. Roundabouts virtually eliminate those types of crashes because vehicles all travel in the same direction, according to Associated Press writer Richard Richtmeyer.[6]

In addition to improved vehicle and pedestrian safety, and in spite of lower speeds, roundabouts dramatically outperform traffic circles in terms of vehicle throughput and, because a roundabout's circular traffic is always moving, they outperform ordinary junctions with traffic signals as well."

Wow! I'm convinced. I'm putting a roundabout in my driveway!

[Disgusted-Daily]

And the hits just keep on coming!

[Swimmy]

I don't doubt that a roundabout is a safe alternative to a 4-way stop at a major intersection. But in a decaying area that doesn't need to reduce traffic flow anymore than it has, you need to find a way to allow for quick access to every point in the city. Lansing, MI has route 495. It's a highway with a 65 mph limit that can get you from the east end of the city (where my classes were) to the west end of the city (where I lived) in about 10 minutes as opposed to the 20 minutes on the city roads.

Utica does not have that. Nor is there any considerable traffic flow that would make a roundabout necessary. There are plenty of useless, ill-timed traffic lights on genesee street. Perhaps if the city re-synchronized the lights to make it possible to avoid hitting every single one, you'd have less speeders trying to beat the lights, making a roundabout here useless.

[concerned]

I would still like to see the incorporation of trolley cars in the area and possibly an old fashion dinner car with car hops on roller skates bring your order to you car.