By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

Pembroke residents peppered state Department of Transportation representatives with questions about a proposal to put a traffic roundabout on the town’s main thoroughfare.

The DOT presented its plans for the Route 3 and Pembroke Hill Road intersection to more than 100 people at a Monday, Oct. 23, informational meeting at the Pembroke Public Library.

Many area residents have lobbied in recent years for a light at the intersection, where 81-year-old Avis Davis was killed while driving three years ago.

“There are not half the numbers of cars on Pembroke Hill Road that would warrant a signalized intersection,” said Bill Oldenburg, DOT chief of preliminary design.

Oldenburg suggested the only reasonable solution for the problematic intersection is a one-way, one-lane roundabout, which are much smaller than traffic circles or rotaries.

“It’s this, really, or we keep it as it is,” said Oldenburg, “and I don’t think anybody sees that as a solution.”

Pembroke Hill Road is largely residential, but also feeds into Pembroke Hill School and the Montessori school. Residents have complained of waiting up to 10 minutes in order to turn onto Route 3.

Oldenburg said the roundabout wouldn’t necessarily get residents onto Route 3 faster during the peak morning hour, but said it would make left turns onto Route 3 much safer.

The proposed roundabout is 110 feet in diameter, compared to traffic circles in Epsom and Lee that stretch 250 feet in diameter.

Angles leading into the roundabout would slow traffic down to about 20 mph, said Oldenburg, and would limit potential accident points.

“Accidents that occur on roundabouts are very slow,” said Oldenburg. “They are fender benders and side swipes. There are no T-bones.”

When questioned, Police Chief Scott Lane said he couldn’t say whether the roundabout would be the safest option. Only four roundabouts currently exist on New Hampshire’s public roads.

“Frankly, I’m not a traffic engineer,” said Lane. “I really can’t, with any degree of expertise, offer an opinion on it.”

Said Oldenburg, “There’s an old saying: You can run a red light, but you can’t run a roundabout.”

Anita Wolcott, whose home is at the intersection questioned how the roundabout would improve the situation for traffic looking to turn onto Route 3.

“You’re never going to get a gap because there’s such a high flow of traffic going north and south on Route 3,” she said.

Oldenburg said the roundabout would be engineered to keep traffic flowing better in all directions.

“You don’t need the 300 and 400 feet (to turn) like you need today,” he said. “You need 50.”

Funding for the project, estimated to top off at $2 million, would come largely from a federal grant, with the state chipping in about 20 percent of the cost, said Oldenburg. No local money would be required, he said.

The current plan, in which Bow Lane is reconfigured to line up across from Pembroke Hill Road, is contingent upon the state purchasing the site of the old Irving Gas Station.

Wolcott questioned what the project would do to nearby property values.

“I’m trying to sell my house on the corner of Pembroke Hill (Road) and Route 3,” she said. “I’ll never be able to sell my house now.”

Pembroke Planning Director Laura Scott noted that the town has embarked on a Route 3 corridor study with the regional planning commission.

Based on feedback from the meeting, the DOT may come back to Pembroke residents in April 2007 with a formal public hearing on the roundabout plan. If that goes well, said Oldenburg, the roundabout could be built in 2009.

Butch Ayles joked, “You put that roundabout in, and if we don’t like it in a couple of years, you can take it out.”