Bengal Boulevard Roundabout Design

An offset intersection with less than 200 feet of separation, Bengal Boulevard, 2300 East, and 2325 East experience significant delays during peak hours, exacerbated by the nearby Brighton High School and Cottonwood Heights City Hall. As a result of the existing configuration, this intersection experiences a high number of accidents. To improve pedestrian and vehicle safety and reduce traffic delays and emissions, Cottonwood Heights is reconstructing the intersection as a roundabout and hired Lochner to lead design.

Utilizing best practices and going through multiple rounds of design iterations, Lochner’s roundabout design uses a non-traditional elliptical configuration, which was developed in response to stakeholder feedback regarding pedestrian and bicycle safety. Like a traditional roundabout, it offers fewer conflict points to decrease the likelihood of accidents, lower travel speeds to reduce collision severity, and a continuous flow of traffic to improve travel time and air quality. The elliptical configuration, however, provides improved pedestrian and bicycle mobility. The new multi-modal facilities include offset Z-crosswalks along Bengal Boulevard and traditional crosswalks at each of the other legs of the intersection, pedestrian refuge islands, pedestrian-activated rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs), and a multi-use path circulating around the intersection. The roundabout will also include decorative railing to guide pedestrians along the designated pathways, a pocket park on the roundabout’s southside with benches, historic marker, and a picnic table, truck aprons to accommodate the turning radius of large vehicles, and additional queuing space behind crosswalks. Lochner prepared and led an open house to demonstrate how the roundabout will operate. As a result of Lochner’s coordination with Brighton High School, a new entrance will be constructed in support of the school’s reconstruction. Lochner’s extensive experience with roundabouts coupled with a national expert adds significant value to the project and its service to a community.