Two intersections along a busy San Luis Obispo corridor are set to be converted from traffic signals to roundabouts as part of a plan to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety.
The project targets the area where Broad Street transitions into Highway 227, just past the airport, a stretch that sees roughly 15,000 vehicles a day.
Traffic signals at Buckley Road and Los Ranchos Road would be replaced with roundabouts, allowing a continuous flow of traffic and reducing stop-and-go conditions. The plan also calls for a paved bicycle and pedestrian trail extending the railway trail in San Luis Obispo down Price Canyon.
The map above illustrates the roundabouts planned at Buckley and Los Ranchos Roads, restricted left turns out of Crestmont Drive during peak travel time on SR-227, and a concrete paved pedestrian and bicycle pathway extending the railway trail in SLO through Price Canyon. A link to SLOCOG's fact sheet can be found HERE.
Stephen Hanamaikai, a transportation planner at the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG), said the design change is intended to address both safety and congestion.
"The major thing we're fixing here with the roundabouts is traffic congestion," Hanamaikai said.
He added that the volume of traffic on the corridor is not unusual for a roundabout installation.
"It's not totally uncommon for a roundabout to be on a road that carries this amount of traffic," Hanamaikai said.
Most of the crashes along this road have been attributed to speed. The roundabout design is intended to slow down drivers as they move through the intersections.
"What the roundabouts will do is, instead of being traffic in every direction with one allowed to go at a time, it'll slow traffic as it flows through the roundabout, changing from what would be a stop control to a yield control," Hanamaikai said.
A nearby roundabout recently opened heading out of the Avila Beach area south on Highway 101 which visually demonstrates how traffic may flow through the planned changes on SR-227.
SLOCOG and Caltrans are working together to address the recurring daily congestion along the route. A public meeting about the plans is scheduled for September 1. You can sign up for details and updates at THIS LINK.
The project also includes plans for an extension of the SLO Railway paved trail for pedestrians and cyclists, which would connect San Luis Obispo to beach areas to the south.
"So we have the Edna Price Canyon Trail. The vision is to connect Pismo Beach along Price Canyon Road, connecting 227 to get all the way to San Luis Obispo," Hanamaikai said.
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