City looks at installing large roundabout at West Broadway/Toole intersection (2024)

The City of Missoula is looking seriously at using about $3.78 million in state and federal funding to install a large roundabout at the busy intersection of West Broadway, Toole Avenue and California Street.

Last week, the Missoula City Council's public works committee approved authorizing the mayor to sign agreements that will allow the city to hire a consultant to come up with a design for the intersection.

Kevin Slovarp, a city engineer for surface transportation, said the city's preferred intersection improvement right now is probably a multi-lane roundabout, but the plans aren't yet set in stone. A single-lane roundabout may be a little safer but might cause problems at nearby intersections.

He said the intersection has been slated for improvements in both the 2021 Long Range Transportation Plan and the 2021 Envision West Broadway Master Plan.

"There’s been 33 crashes in the most recent five-year time frame from 2018 to 2022," he explained. "Most of those crashes were rear-end crashes but there were a few right-angle and bicycle crashes, which are generally more severe. So we definitely think that intersection improvements can help with those safety aspects and generally limit the number of crashes and especially with the severity of those."

He noted that the intersection right now has a "slip lane," which allows people to change streets without actually entering an intersection. He also said it allows people to change lanes at high speeds as well.

"And that's a safety concern," he said. "The existing intersection doesn’t have a crosswalk on the West Broadway leg and that limits access, and there’s no safe space for bicyclists and there is a prohibition of various movements at the existing intersection now."

The community benefits of a redesigned intersection include less property damage, fewer injury crashes, enhanced mobility and access, Slovarp said.

"At this time city staff is recommending a roundabout as the intersection improvement," he said. "It is, we believe, the best option to slow vehicular speeds, provide the desired bike and pedestrian safety improvements, improve intersection operations, enhance access, include storm drainage improvements, lighting, signage and it would also contribute as a gateway feature with landscaping or art in the center of the roundabout."

The city has developed a conceptual evaluation of the roundabout and looked into its feasibility. They've also looked into "projected truck turning" and "fastest path movements" and that has also been reviewed by the Montana Department of Transportation.

"They have found no fatal flaws, so this is what we will move forward with," Slovarp said.

City staff has started conversations about obtaining some right-of-way with nearby property owners, and a manager at the Valvoline shop at the intersection didn't have any major qualms about cars exiting from the north side.

City council member Amber Sherrill wanted to know if it would be the most high-traffic-volume roundabout in the city.

"The amount of traffic on Broadway right now is about 20,000 vehicles a day, maybe a little more," Slovarp said. "It’s a high volume of traffic, that’s for sure."

Sherrill noted that people in Europe can navigate a four-lane roundabout with no problem. But, she said, people in Missoula are often not used to them and stop when they don't need to stop.

The roundabout would be paid for by federal funds meant to mitigate air pollution. Roundabouts, because they don't stop traffic, are often touted as causing fewer emissions than stoplights.

City council member Bob Campbell said he's often seen an issue where people who are eastbound on Toole try to immediately turn left into the Zip Trip gas station, which is illegal and holds up traffic that is trying to turn left off of Broadway.

"There's an immediate backup of traffic," he said. "It's frustrating because maybe one or two cars will get through that light and that left turn arrow will stay green for 30 or 40 seconds but no one moves because that first car, or second or third car, will be waiting to make that left turn (into the gas station) and backing everybody up. So I look at this design and to me I’m not sure it really addresses what I see as a fundamental flaw."

Slovarp said the roundabout will be "fully vetted" and consultants will look to mitigate any problems with appropriate features.

Technically, cars entering a roundabout are supposed to use turn signals to indicate when they are exiting the circle, but many Missoulians don't do that. Council member Kristen Jordan said she lived in Europe and saw that there were rules and laws governing how people could enter and exit. Slovarp said the city council or the state Legislature could look at implementing new laws regarding roundabouts as they become more common. He noted that they are a relatively new traffic device in America.

Slovarp said the design hasn't been finalized. He said single-lane roundabouts are generally safer. However, he said, a single-lane roundabout causes issues with traffic at nearby intersections.

City council member Sandra Vasecka was the only member of the committee to oppose the motion to authorize the mayor to sign the contracts.

"I have been receiving a lot of pushback about this roundabout," she said. "I bike this area. The only issues I've seen is people taking a left into Zip Trip, which is legally not allowed. So I will be opposing this motion."

She said a constituent was concerned that large trucks would be forced to drive around in nearby neighborhoods if they couldn't navigate the roundabout. Slovarp said that the middle of the roundabout is a "truck apron" that allows large trucks to drive over it.

The full city council was scheduled to vote on the contracts on Monday, May 20.