By Linda Taaffe

The Los Altos City Council unanimously agreed last week to move forward with the city’s first roundabout, at the intersection of Springer and Berry avenues near Loyola School. Design consultants Kimley-Horn and Associates are scheduled to present a final design of the proposed roundabout to the council by next March.

The 80-foot traffic circle is part of a list of street improvements intended to calm traffic in the Loyola School neighborhood under a half-million-dollar federal “Safe Routes to School” grant.

Traffic consultants targeted the Springer-Berry intersection after studies ranked the four-way stop sign at the site unsatisfactory during peak traffic hours.

About 1,572 cars use the intersection during the morning peak commute hours and about 1,276 during the afternoon commute hours, according to the traffic study by Kimley-Horn and Associates.

The design consultants said a two-phased signal or a roundabout would dramatically improve the level of service for vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists.

A roundabout would require less maintenance costs and no ongoing energy costs.

After an initial traffic report suggested a roundabout for the site at the start of this year, the council hired Kimley-Horn to further evaluate whether a roundabout would provide the best solution to the intersection’s traffic congestion.

Some members were concerned that the intersection was too small for a roundabout.

Kimley-Horn said an 80-foot roundabout would provide enough space for traffic to enter the circle at the correct angle and speed.

Kimley-Horn also designed a “mountable” roundabout, which would enable emergency vehicles to drive over the circle and easily get through the intersection.

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the city a $495,000 “Safe Routes to School” grant after a group of Loyola parents prepared an application seeking funding for more than a dozen street improvements, based on recommendations from a privately-funded traffic-planning consultant.

The project list includes raised crosswalks, new bicycle lanes, curb and sidewalk improvements, as well as other intersection modifications.

Under the grant, Caltrans will administer 90 percent of the design and construction costs of the street improvements and the city will be responsible for the remaining 10 percent, or $55,000.

The Loyola project could be used as a model for future improvements at other schools, the council said.