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Public Meeting To Address Roundabout At Mobile Highway, Beulah Road
October 17, 2014
The Florida Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting concerning the placement of a traffic roundabout at the intersection of Mobile Highway and Beulah Road in Escambia County. The meeting will be held Tuesday, October 21, 5:30 to 7 p.m., at the Beulah Senior Center, 7425 Woodside Road.
Roundabouts have been identified by the Federal Highway Administration as an effective means of reducing the frequency and severity of crashes at intersections. The proposed roundabout would provide a new, yield-only movement for local road users. Although this project is in a preliminary planning stage, design and construction are not currently funded.
This meeting will provide you an opportunity to preview the proposed design, ask questions and/or submit comments concerning upcoming projects. Maps, drawings and other information will be on display. There will not be a formal presentation, however FDOT representatives will be available to answer questions and discuss the proposed project.
Comments
22 Responses to “Public Meeting To Address Roundabout At Mobile Highway, Beulah Road”
Of course they’re not gonna let us know until the plans are set. They’re gonna pretend they care about throwing innocent people out of their homes and taking their land by having meetings and polls. When in reality they don’t care and will do it anyway. One of my neighbors brothers works for the road dept and informed some people that’s why the roundabout idea has come up.
How do you know a shopping center is going up there at the intersection? I live right there on the corner and I haven’t heard about this. I know there is a little plaza right there now. Would like to know more info if you have it. Thanks.
It’s all part of a new development going up at the intersection, which will be a shopping center. It will also leave three families without homes because these developers will be buying the properties. My family unfortunately is one of them. I need help to stop this. Anyone that could point me in the right direction so I don’t lose my house would be greatly appreciated,
I’ve read all of the comments on here and see that nobody is really for the roundabout. I live in Beulah and something has to be done at that intersection. Did any of you go to the meeting and ask questions and see the pictures of how a roundabout works? Me and my husband went to the meeting and asked questions and spoke to the FDOT on how this thing works. We were against it all the way, but after speaking to them and seeing how it works, and learning that there are more fatalities with a red light (because people tend to run red lights) than with a roundabout, it might not be a bad thing. And yes, horse trailers and big semi trucks and easily use a roundabout. It’s wider than what you think it is. I still have mixed feelings about it, but a stop light will just hold traffic up even more on Beulah Rd and Mobile Hwy. With the roundabout, at least the traffic would be flowing at a constant pace. Look, they said this is 4 to 5 years down the road, but I believe after the new Navy Federal building is done (which is in a little over a year) the traffic will be tripled what it is now in that area. Beulah Rd is a short cut for all those Navy Fed workers. I know a lot of us doesn’t want change, but change can be a good thing especially if it’s going to reduce the amount of accidents there.
No kidding. Traffic enforcement would be wonderful. Cars on Beulah Rd seem to average 50mph. So dangerous in a residential area. They need to put those traffic islands back. Or speed bumps. And a traffic light. The island is just a bold move to bail some crony out of a poor real estate deal.
A roundabout in the middle of a HIGHWAY.
Who dreamed this up?
ridiculous
This intersection needs, and has needed for a very long time, a flashing red light on Beulah Rd and a flashing yellow light on Mobile Highway.
A bit of traffic enforcement in the area would probably help quite a bit also
Ive driven this intersection for 12 years now, the issues there are very very simple to rectify, no lights or dumb roundabouts needed.
The roads intersect at off angles, so its difficult to look both ways at times, unless you pull up to the road, at an angle (on beulah road of course).. The intersection needs to be straightened some, a dogleg at both of the beulah road sides, would fix that…and make it 90* angles.
The other problem is, people do no use their blinkers to signal a turn…this is the inconsiderate twits on mobile hwy that barrel up to the intersection at 65mph…and suddenly decide to make a turn…no blinkers.
A more serious problem is, the right of way…literally, the right of passage on beulah road. No one seems to know whos turn it is to go…people just tend to close their eyes and mash the pedal…hope for the best..hope the other person stops or lets them go.
A roundabout, will not make the drivers, drive any better, or make them know the rules of the road…its just going to make a dangerous intersection even more dangerous…I imagine it will be like..it is right now, minus the stop signs.
On a side note…the medians on beulah road made for a great slalom…i think this roundabout will make for an even better skidpad…
it would be awesome to know which “really special” individual came up with this plan and also which insane person above him allowed this nightmare to actually be considered as a viable option. Guess traffic lights are just too complicated? Proof positive that if you have a “d” average in college at least you can still get a job with the gov’ment.
I drive through this intersection every workday and Sundays to church. Frequently there are bad displays of driving as people from Beulah Road, both north and south, pull out in front of me as if they don’t care that I’m comming toward them at 55mph.
Having said that, I don’t think a roundabout will work here because Mobile Hwy is a US highway and Beulah Road is a neighborhood street. Roundabouts work when the two intersecting roads are of EQUAL size and traffic volume, not un-equal as this intersection is. I have used roundabouts in other places like Slidell, LA (Robert Road and Brownswitch Road) and it works good there, but not this one.
A traffic light helped at Beulah Road & Nine-Mile Road US90A, so it would help at this place also. Or better signs and intersection safety signals for the drivers on Beulah Road who pull out in front of traffic on Mobile Hwy. Like I said, I’m through there twice a day, nearly every day and have been for 16 years, so I know what they do.
I live right down the road from the intersection and a victim of one of the many accidents that occur there all year long and a roundabout is the most ridiculous idea. There is WAY too much traffic right there all day, especially in the morning time. Such a busy intersection. Mobile Hwy is not just a neighborhood road, it is a major highway. All drivers would do would be to figure out how to position their vehicle to get through the median to where they wouldn’t even have to hit the brakes. Just like the ones that used to be on Beulah Rd for a short time. Those were a huge mistake and this will be too. A huge disaster waiting to happen.
A roundabout is a horrible idea! Too much traffic on Mobile Hwy for a roundabout to be effective. It will cause more tempers to flare than anything……
My initial reaction was to buck the idea of a roundabout completely. However, that being said, http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Safety/roundabouts/benefits.htm reports:
“Studies have shown that roundabouts are safer than traditional stop sign or signal-controlled intersections.
Roundabouts reduced injury crashes by 75 percent at intersections where stop signs or signals were previously used for traffic control, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Studies by the IIHS and Federal Highway Administration have shown that roundabouts typically achieve:
A 37 percent reduction in overall collisions
A 75 percent reduction in injury collisions
A 90 percent reduction in fatality collisions
A 40 percent reduction in pedestrian collisions”
I live right down the road from this intersection and that’s about the dumbest idea to date. It reminds me when they put those stupid islands on beulah rd between Mobile hwy and 9 mile rd., it was ike people would see how fast they could drive through them before they hit they curb. I think a good ol’ fashioned stop light will work just fine. We do not need European style roads in the U.S., Go live in Europe if you want those kind of highways.
A stop light maybe, but a roundabout is a poor idea. Thinking of the growth in the area, whoever comes up with these ideas needs to move on down the road.
Put in a regular stop light.
UPDATE: The mention of a flashing beacon at the intersection was a mistake in the FDOT press release release, they have confirmed. And it’s been removed from the story.
I confirmed with FDOT that they definitely meant Hwy 90/Mobile Hwy for the roundabout (not Nine Mile and Beulah, there’s a full traffic signal there). They are trying now to find out why their press release said existing flashing beacon.
Thanks for pointing out the discrepancy in the info FDOT provided us.
The roundabouts are built large enough to accommodate the largest legal semi-truck rig with room to spare.
Any horse rigs should have no problems.
I have witnessed first hand how these “work”.
“an effective means of reducing the frequency and severity of crashes at intersections”
Only applies after several years of use by locals, frequently.
When entering and exiting a roundabout, you only make right hand turns.
Rookies will idiotically make left hand turns and cause chaos.
FDOT states that it would replace existing flashing beacon system ! Maybe they need to go look at intersections because they made plans !
There is no flashing Beacon system at Beulah road and Mobile HWY.
Try Nine mile road and Beulah Road
A roundabout at this intersection will cause trouble for horse trailers coming to the Equestrian Center. I have a 3 Horse Living Quarter, and getting a 35ft, 8ft wide trailer around anything like this will be a challenge and cause even more delay in getting onto Mobile Hwy from Beulah Road and up to safe speeds.