LAKE COUNTY — Caltrans is asking for public input as it considers building a four-way stoplight or a roundabout at the intersection of Highway 20 and the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff.
An open house will be held Thursday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Nice Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department on Manzanita Drive in Nice. Caltrans staff including representatives from the project development team, design engineers and the project manager will be available to answer questions and take comments.
“At this meeting, we”re looking for public input. This is the first public meeting we have had on this project. We are putting forth our proposals and looking to answer any questions people have,” Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie said. He added that this is the only public meeting that will be held about the project.
The intersection has a collision rate five times higher than the state average for similar intersections, according to Frisbie.
Frisbie said a bus stop at the intersection will stay.
Roundabouts mean less vehicle emissions, Frisbie said, because vehicles entering a roundabout do not typically come to a complete stop and therefore do not use as much gas to accelerate. The roundabout would reduce speed at the intersection and reduce the probability of broadside collisions, according to Frisbie.
He said because the project is a safety project, Caltrans will fund it. The roundabout is about $1 million more expensive than the traffic signal.
After the public input is gathered, Frisbie said the next step is to have an environmental assessment done and begin the design phase. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2010, and to be completed in the fall.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
