Transportation bill gives boost to roundabouts
- Producing Organization
- Vermont Public Radio
- Contributing Organization
- Vermont Public Radio (Colchester, Vermont)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/211-1937q68j
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- Description
- Description
- The new five-year federal transportation bill gives a big boost to roundabouts, a type of road design that's increasingly favored for busy intersections.
- Segment Description
- (Host) The new five-year federal transportation bill gives a big boost to roundabouts, a type of road design that's increasingly favored for busy intersections. The legislation says roundabouts qualify for 100% federal funding. Under the previous funding formula, the federal government paid for 80% of the cost. Proponents say the change will mean more roundabouts for Vermont. VPR's John Dillon reports: (Dillon) Roundabouts are designed to keep traffic flowing through intersections. Proponents say they're safer and more efficient than traffic signals. And since cars keep moving instead of idling at red lights they cut down on pollution and fuel consumption. But in the world of transportation funding, roundabouts were second class citizens. That changed in the new transportation bill. (Tony Redington) "This is the first time that the word 'roundabout' has appeared in federal statute." (Dillon) Tony Redington used to work for the Vermont Transportation Agency. He's now a transportation policy analyst and works for a coalition that advocates for roundabouts in the Northeast. He says the new legislation is historic. (Redington) "The roundabout has been handicapped by the fact that traffic signals that are not necessarily viewed today as a safety device are in a list that allows 100% federally funding with no state or local match required. And the roundabout was excluded from that club until the federal law that was just signed by the president last week." (Dillon) Senator Jim Jeffords is also a roundabout advocate. As a ranking member of the committee that wrote the transportation bill, he backed the change to 100% federal funding. And Jeffords obtained a special earmark for a roundabout project at the dangerous intersection of route 103 and U.S. Route 7 in Clarendon. The state Transportation Agency didn't like the idea, and had planned to install traffic lights there. But V-Trans spokesman Ian Grossman says Vermont policy has supported roundabouts. (Grossman) "It's already been in our state legislation that when we look at safety improvements to intersections we need to consider roundabouts as an option. And it's been the way that the Vermont Agency of Transportation has worked for a number of years now. So now, the federal legislation kind of catches up the rest of the country with the way Vermont's already been operating." (Dillon) But Redington, who used to work for the agency, says that's not what he experienced in state government. (Redington) "As a practical matter the agency itself has never initiated a roundabout and built one. The agency has grudgingly allowed training to take place and there's some folks within the agency that are positive toward roundabouts, but the agency posture, I think, it's fair to say is generally negative." (Dillon) The change in the federal funding formula for roundabouts also pleases opponents of the proposed Circumferential Highway in Chittenden County. The Smart Growth Collaborative, a coalition of groups that's fighting suburban sprawl in the region, supports an alternative to the $180 million highway that relies on roundabouts to move traffic through congested intersections. Brian Dunkiel represents the collaborative. He says the alternative project already costs $30 million less than the Circ Highway. Now he says the federal funding change for roundabouts makes them even more attractive. (Dunkiel) "What the 100% federal cost share means is that the Smart Growth Collaborative alternative would require the state to put up almost seven and a half million dollars less than if the state was to construct segments A and B of the Circ highway. And that's meaningful money in these days of tight transportation budgets." (Dillon) The Transportation Agency has launched a year-long environmental impact study of the Circ and potential alternatives. For Vermont Public Radio, I'm John Dillon.
- Broadcast Date
- 2005-08-16
- Asset type
- Segment
- Rights
- Copyright Vermont Public Radio
- Media type
- Sound
- Credits
-
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Producing Organization: Vermont Public Radio
Reporter: John Dillon
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
Vermont Public Radio - WVPR
Identifier: audio_15073 (VPR)
Format: audio/mpeg
Duration: 00:03:27
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Transportation bill gives boost to roundabouts,” 2005-08-16, Vermont Public Radio, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed May 10, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-211-1937q68j.
- MLA: “Transportation bill gives boost to roundabouts.” 2005-08-16. Vermont Public Radio, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. May 10, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-211-1937q68j>.
- APA: Transportation bill gives boost to roundabouts. Boston, MA: Vermont Public Radio, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-211-1937q68j