Roundabout planned for Honore, Old Farm Road gets mixed reviews

Reviews were mixed when Manatee County unveiled plans for a new roundabout at the intersection of Honore Avenue and Old Farm Road. 

Residents in favor of the roundabout mostly attended to get more information on how construction will impact them. Residents opposed to the roundabout attended to voice their concerns. 

“If (drivers) don’t have to stop anymore, getting out of our subdivisions is going to be a nightmare and very dangerous,” Chaparral resident Martina Schlagwein said.

The county held a public information meeting on Sept. 21 at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church on Prospect Road. It was a two-hour open house, where residents could see the plans and ask questions of county staff and consultants.

Construction is planned to begin in late fall. There will be lane closures as necessary and temporary stop lights if needed. The estimated cost of the project is $2 million, and construction is expected to take about a year.

The intersection is currently configured as a four-way stop.

Several residents said the stop signs provide enough of a break in traffic to exit their neighborhoods in a somewhat timely manner now and said a continual traffic flow will make exiting even more difficult to navigate.

“It’s a major change, so some people have concerns about how the traffic is going to flow and how construction is going to interrupt everybody’s life,” Commissioner Mike Rahn said in between fielding questions at the meeting. 

As a Mote Ranch resident, Rahn will be affected. From his own experience, traffic is at its worst when he drives home in the evening. He sees traffic backed up to the fire station on Desoto Road.

“I think with this you’ll see a better traffic flow to where they can pull out of their neighborhoods easier, turning right or left,” he said. “There’s a good plan in place.”

Speeding cars concern Tom and Pat Olszews, who live about a block away from the intersection. The couple said the roundabout will speed traffic versus slowing it down. 

Stantec design consultant Jeremy Runkle said the curvature on the splitter islands, which are the medians upon entering a traffic circle, will help reduce speed because the roundabout is designed for 25 mile per hour speeds. 

Stantec is the firm designing the roundabout.

Runkle said roundabouts have been shown to reduce crashes by 65% nationwide, particularly rear end collisions that often occur at four-way stops.