The in basket: I heard second hand at the dentist’s office Thursday that one of Kitsap Transit’s worker/driver buses had had a hard time getting around the new roundabout being opened at the end of the Manette Bridge in Bremerton. The driver had to back up to maneuver his way around it, the report said.
It might have resulted from the driver’s unfamiliarity with the just-opened roundabout, I remarked.
It reminded me that Gary Reed had e-mailed on Oct. 6 to ask, “Is the roundabout on the Manette-side sized to allow buses, semi trucks, and fire trucks to safely negotiate it, or will there be a vehicle length restriction?
“It looks pretty small,” he said.
The out basket: Jeff Cook, project engineer for the bridge project said at the time, “There are no length restrictions being imposed on the bridge. The design vehicle for this particular roundabout was the longest bus in the Kitsap Transit fleet.
“Keep in mind there are two components of a roundabout when it comes to traversable areas. The first is the asphalt itself. The second is the truck apron. The truck apron is the concrete circle between the asphalt and the roundabout stubwall. By definition it is “a raised section…around the central island that acts as an extra lane for large vehicles.
“The back wheels of the oversize vehicle can ride up on the truck apron so the truck can easily complete the turn, while the raised portion of concrete discourages use by smaller vehicles.”
John Clauson of Kitsap Transit confirmed that a worker-driver bus had run into trouble getting around the circle. State officials called them Thursday,” John said, “asking us to bring out a bus so they could see just where the problem was. Our experience during that exercise was the same as the Worker/Driver.” I’m not sure where this will lead.
Wow! If our buses are having difficulty I sure hope that the Fire trucks don’t have the same issue! What is the purpose for this roundabout anyways? How about some pictures?
Interesting. Has anyone seen the new roundabout at the intersection of Lake Flora and Dickerson in South Kitsap? It must be of similar design.
“Keep in mind there are two components of a roundabout when it comes to traversable areas. The first is the asphalt itself. The second is the truck apron.”
Funny how the truck apron does not seem to be a design characteristic of the Bethel or Gig Harbor designs, or maybe I just never noticed it. Also funny how the drivers seemed not to know about this design and how it functions. I do know that the entrance way to the Lake Flora circle is narrow and I wonder how long before the signs need replaced after a large vehicle smacks them. I think it will be very interesting during our first snow storm of the season.
Makes you wonder as to the next “roundabout design” that will come our way. A consistent standard design seems not to be part of the plan. It will give drivers a reason to stay alert while driving.
Roger Gay
South Kitsap
Lets lose the Whoville Christmas tree that Manette’s councilman wants in the middle of this round about. I think we will be needing a good line of vision to see who or what is stuck mid-circumfrence
I would seriously like to know what the rationale is for the roundabout on the Manette side of the New bridge. I never saw an accident at the end of the old bridge. I think we are looking at a serious bottleneck in the making.
Got to wonder if the designer of this roundabout was involved with the Waaga Way interchange.
I also wonder about the fire truck issue. If the buses are having a hard time fire trucks are bigger so I think they will have a hard time also.