State Fair exhibit helps drivers try DOT’s planned roundabouts

NEW YORK STATE FAIRGROUNDS (WSYR-TV) — The State Department of Transportation uses the New York State Fair to teach Central New Yorkers how to use the roundabouts planned for the I-81 viaduct replacement project.

At a new exhibit inside the Science and Industry Building, State DOT personnel have installed an interactive version of the roundabout using giant stickers showing the roadway on the ground, complete with pavement markings and signs.

Whether they realize it or not, people walking through seem to follow the road direction naturally. Some seemed to have more fun using strollers or scooters.

Three roundabouts will be installed in the next few years: one in front of where I-81 passes the JMA Wireless Dome and two near Brighton Avenue.

“Roundabouts keep people moving. There’s no more stopping at the light. So when you’re in a hurry in the morning or in the afternoon trying to get to a doctor’s appointment or get to work, you’re not going to have to stop at that light for a minute or two,” said TeNesha Murphy, a public information officer for the NYSDOT.

Traffic engineers consider roundabouts a modern design feature that keeps traffic moving without stop lights, reduces the chances of crashes, and calms traffic.

In the future, I-81 traffic traveling north from Tully, LaFayette, and Nedrow will have to use the current I-481 (to be renamed I-81) to remain at highway speeds consistently. The current I-81 will become Business Loop 81 at the southern interchange, which then transitions into the community grid. Some speeds will stay 55 miles per hour outside of downtown, but then this traffic circle planned at Van Buren Street will slow traffic down to around 30 miles per hour.

For some reason, Central New Yorkers seem anxious for the change.

Murphy, the also former Bridge Street co-host on NewsChannel 9, showed NewsChannel 9 through the interactive exhibit to calm public anxiety.

“Carrier Circle is not a roundabout,” said Murphy. “It’s a traffic circle. It is navigated at much higher speeds than a true roundabout. Roundabouts in Syracuse have much slower speeds.”

Murphy has some advice for drivers: rely on the signs and pavement markings and watch out for people crossing the road.

Because the roundabouts are part of the grid, the ground-level circles will have pedestrians crossing through.

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