Woodbury, County Tussle Over Radio Drive-Hargis Parkway Intersection

City officials say the county has them convinced.

Roundabouts are a good way to run an intersection.

So it came as a surprise to Woodbury Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens when county transportation officials said a roundabout is not an option for the intersection of Radio Drive and Hargis Parkway.

“It’s not clear to us why (a stoplight) is so much more superior,” she said during a workshop meeting Wednesday.

“You guys have sold us on roundabouts,” Councilman Paul Rebholz added. “What I don’t get is: why don’t we just do them?”

Plans call for Radio Drive , generally from Bailey Road south to Hargis Parkway. Though it’s a Washington County roadway, the city has taken the lead on the project due to current county project workload.

The project has also been moved up to accommodate Woodbury’s at the southwest corner of Radio Drive and Bailey Road. And the city has secured a Met Council grant for a pedestrian tunnel beneath Radio Drive near Bailey; it must be completed by the end of 2014.

Washington County will for the $2 million project and pay two-thirds of the cost, according to an April release from the county.

While City Administrator Clint Gridley said discussions with the county have been respectful, traffic officials were firm on their stance that the intersection should have a signal instead of a roundabout.

Rebholz said a roundabout at Radio Drive and Hargis Parkway might function better, considering there is one just to the north, and a signal might spawn backups once the area is further developed.

Too often people ask why the city hasn’t developed a system of roundabouts, he said.

“The time to build a roundabout is now,” Rebholz said.

He also said it’s somewhat of a “gotcha” situation.

“That’s not how we do stuff in Woodbury,” Rebholz said.

Joe Gustafson—a county transportation engineer who said has roundabout “propaganda” on the door of his office—said the east-west traffic flow at that intersection doesn’t warrant a roundabout. Also, because that area is busier at certain times of day, it would be easy for the county to adjust the timing of the intersection, he said.

A roundabout at Hargis Parkway would likely require a different layout than the one at Bailey Road, adding confusion for motorists.

There would also be issues with land acquisition if a roundabout were under consideration, which could prolong the time line, Gustafson said.

Gridley noted that there are competing interests at play. The county is more concerned with overall traffic flow, while the city asking: “How do we build a sense of place?”

Rebholz said that the city should at least start having discussions with area landowners about the need for a roundabout in the future.

“The continuity of (roundabouts) … that really maximizes the benefit of having them,” he said.

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