City Market Parking Lot Entrance onto Champlain Parkway Roundabout Intersection!

Marry the City Market South End Parking Entrance Direct to a Champlain Parkway Roundabout!

The plans move forward for Burlington's City Market South End facility at the Corner of Flynn Avenue and Briggs Lane. Now the plan calls for one entry onto Flynn Avenue adjacent to the rail line and a second from Market parking area via Briggs Lane, then onto Flynn Avenue very close to the current Parkway signalized intersection of Flynn/Parkway.

(See the preliminary plan http://www.citymarket.coop/sites/default/files/southend/City%20Market%20-%20Flynn%20Ave%20Concept%20Site%20Plan%20June%202015.pdf )

A direct, safe access of City Market onto the Champlain Parkway can be done two approaches—a Parkway roundabout intersection at Ferguson Street emptying directly into the Market parking area, or bending Briggs Lane into a Parkway/Flynn roundabout as a fifth “leg.” Either approach marries the parking area directly to a safe roundabout, safe for all modes.  The Burlington Onion River Coop "City Market" is the highest revenue coop market in the United States.  

Either roundabout design allows the benefits of closing the intersection of Briggs Lane and Flynn Avenue, providing up to a third of an acre of available land along the east side of the Market between Flynn and Ferguson west of the Parkway, direct Parkway to Market access for all deliveries, and sharply reducing traffic on the difficult Flynn/Market entrance on the west side of the Market.

The Burlington Walk Bike Council and Safe Streets Burlington group both call for all roundabouts along the Parkway. And, since the Parkway becomes, essentially, a local street once it reaches Home Avenue, adding another roundabout intersection at Ferguson/City Market makes good sense as Market traffic will very likely reach about ten percent of the intersection total traffic, the rule of thumb for minor roadway traffic for roundabout feasibility.

If a Ferguson roundabout is chosen about a third of an acre of the former Biggs Lane becomes available, and those traveling from the nearby Ferguson Street neighborhood, particular walking or biking, would have much safer and shorter trips to the Market.

Either roundabout design connection with Briggs Lane helps the economic viability of the current southern portion of the Market property as well as all points south to Home Avenue.

Roundabouts work just fine with five or six or more private and/or roadway entries. The Montpelier US 2/302 roundabout features three roadway legs and two private accesses along with a third likely when a vacant property is developed. Here is the beautiful downtown 5-leg Glens Falls, NY Centennial Circle roundabout, just google: Images for glens falls roundabout

The U-tube “Glens Falls Loves Roundabout” tells the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHnY8IGv1sY