Noble Avenue Roundabouts at SR 198 Eastbound Ramps and Farmersville Boulevard Project

The roundabouts, while consistent with smart growth and complete street principles, also have proven environmental, mobility, and safety benefits. The Farmersville Roundabouts provide a multimodal project beneficial to all users and for the safe and effective movement of people and goods. Large trucks and emergency vehicles are easily accommodated by the presence of a “truck apron” in which truck trailers can mount onto to accommodate off-tracking. Bicyclists and pedestrians, including pedestrians with mobility impairments, have gained significant improvements due to roundabouts through a series of bicycle ramps, pedestrian curb ramps, wider sidewalks, and crosswalks with much shorter crossing distances across traffic. The roundabouts offer sustainability by meeting the needs of the triple bottom line including social, environmental, and economic benefits. The roundabouts have resulted in an efficient merging of traffic streams at the interchange by significantly reducing the frequency/severity of traffic collisions, reducing the amount of time vehicles are stopped/idling, and improving travel times. The implementation of the roundabouts at the interchange have resulted in vehicles traveling at much slower speeds to the design and entry radii entering the roundabouts, thereby significantly reducing the severity of potential collisions, and improving the interactions between motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Roundabouts represent a sustainable transportation improvement by eliminating ongoing hardware, maintenance and electrical costs that are associated with a signalized intersection. By reducing traffic congestion, they have resulted in reduced driving time for motorists (timesaving), reduced fuel consumption (energy-saving), and reduced green house gas emissions (better air-quality). Furthermore, the roundabouts provide significant social benefits be reducing societal costs related to emergency response, insurance claims, loss of work from traffic collisions, and healthcare costs associated with the treatment of traffic collision victims. The roundabouts save money and natural resources because they allow traffic to flow slowly through the intersection with very little queuing. As a result, vehicles don’t sit and idle as much, traffic congestion is diminished, electronic signaling is minimal or non-existent, and it isn’t necessary to increase the number or length of lanes leading up to an intersection. The Farmersville Roundabouts exhibit many of the characteristics of sustainable design: no power consumption by signal indicators; less pavement devoted to roadways; lower vehicle energy use and emissions; and accommodations that promote non-motorized means of transportation. Moreover, they result in lower delay and fewer crashes. An US EPA document reporting the results of seven studies indicated a significant reduction in vehicle emissions, hydrocarbons (33%); nitric oxides (21%), other studies show the fuel usage reductions (8%-20%).