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Laconia Daily Sun

Meredith 3/25 panel opts for series of 3 roundabouts

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Published Date Friday, 07 November 2014 01:25

MEREDITH — The Advisory Committee of local stakeholders working with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (DOT) to improve the flow of traffic through the center of town yesterday unanimously decided to recommend construction of three roundabouts along the U.S. Route 3/N.H. Route 25 corridor through the center of town.
The roundabouts would be built at the junctions of U.S. Route 3 and Lake Street, U.S. Route 3 and N.H. Route 25 and U.S. Route 25 and Pleasant Street. All three would be single-lane roundabout to minimize the impact on surrounding private properties. However, the critical roundabout at the junction of U.S. Route 3 and N.H. Route 25 would have two right-hand turning lanes to hasten the flow of northbound traffic eastbound toward Center Harbor.
The Advisory Committee, which will report its recommendations to the Board of Selectmen in January, has been meeting each month since March. In the course of studying any number of plans the committee found that those projected to most hasten the flow traffic also had most adverse impact on downtown properties.
Gene McCarthy of MacFarland Johnson, Inc., the project manager, said that the preferred alternative of three roundabouts, with the two turn lanes at U.S. Route 3 and N.H. Route 25, would noticeably improve the flow of eastbound summer traffic, which peaks on Friday nights, and, at the same time, ease congestion arising from southbound traffic on n.H. Route 25, which peaks on Sunday afternoons and evenings. Taken together the three roundabouts will slow traffic through town, enhancing the safety of pedestrians. And the roundabout at Pleasant Street will improve access and egress to the businesses along N.H. Route 25.
Rusty McLear said the plan represents an opportunity to significantly improve the appearance of the center of town. U.S. Route 3 will be divided by a landscaped, tree-lined median eight to twelve feet wide and the roundabouts themselves offer opportunities for plantings.
McCarthy estimated the construction cost of the project, excluding design, engineering and purchase of right-of-way, at approximately $5 million, which closely matched the funds DOT has allocated to it.
John Edgar, Community Development director, stressed that the project should not be delayed or shelved for want of a small amount of funding.
Lou Kahn, a selectmen who chairs the Advisory Committee, said that funding for the project should not be drawn from the property taxpayers of Meredith. "This is a great thing for the feds and the state to do," he remarked.