Saturday Pop Up Event For Pomeroy Village Center Improvement Project
The Town of Amherst has scheduled a pop-up event at Pomeroy Village this Saturday (4/17) at 10 a.m. The Town has a grant to redesign this intersection in South Amherst.
The Town Council will be deciding in the next few months whether to support an enhanced signalized intersection or a roundabout being created at this location. This pop-up event is the Town’s latest outreach effort to get public feedback on the project. People can also share their ideas, comments, concerns through the Town’s Engage Amherst web site (engageamherst.org). The site includes a quick survey.
How can you pay attention to the businesses there if you are speeding along on a roundabout?
Hi Lydia: a key feature of a one-lane roundabout, such as proposed for the Pomeroy Village intersection, is that traffic would be slowing down at that location, not speeding along. An enhanced signalized intersection would result in a wider roadway and likely high traffic speeds, unless traffic calming measures are undertaken there. Yes, it is true that with a stop light at Pomeroy Village, some vehicles would be stopping to wait for the light. But those vehicles who get to the intersection when the light is green could speed right through, just as many do now. And what would prompt more vehicles to stop at Pomeroy Village then they do now? The intersection road design alone will not make that much difference. I think the businesses there and the amenities added will matter more.
One related thought too: cars waiting at the red light can increase greenhouse gas emissions as they idle waiting for the light to change. Roundabouts have been shown to decrease GHG emissions over signalized intersections.