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Brian Arkin, a Pleasanton resident, believed the roundabouts were dangerous, particularly at night, and believed the City made a mistake in approving them. He mentioned that he has tried to make left turns from the side streets to Vineyard Avenue and the vehicles on Vineyard Avenue do not stop. He hoped Council could find a way to improve or remove the roundabouts. Mary Roberts, a Pleasanton resident, said one of the problems with the roundabouts is the ending of the bicycle lane at the roundabouts. She suggested removing the outside curb to the east so that traffic going through the roundabouts would be safer which would also provide adequate space for vehicular traffic and bicyclists. She suggested planting something in the middle of the roundabouts so motorists could see there is something in the middle of the road. If the roundabouts were removed, she was concerned that traffic on the side streets would not be able to make a left turn onto Vineyard Avenue without a traffic signal or stop sign. She believed it would be helpful to remove the weeds that are blocking the view for vehicles coming in each direction. Mr. Sullivan asked if there was any reason why the bicycle path could not continue around the roundabout loop? In trying to design the roundabouts on Vineyard and Valley Avenues, Mr. Knowles said staff followed a new Federal guideline, which specifically states that a bicycle lane should not be striped within the roundabout. The bicycle lane should either be terminated and the roadway narrowed. Another option would be to build a ramp up to an off-street bicycle lane. The goal for the roundabouts and its small diameter is to reduce the speed of vehicles so that a bicyclist could take its position in traffic. Staff recommended roundabouts in these locations because of the decomposed granite path, off-road trail on the north side of the roadway where bicyclists would not need to be in the street, and it was assumed that only serious cyclists would be in the roadway and that the children would be using the various off-road trails. In his review of a study on roundabouts, Mr. Brozosky pointed out that it is not recommended to install a roundabout where there is considerable bicycle traffic. The study further indicated if bicycle riders are children as in the case of a nearby elementary school, signing and paving markings should be implemented directing them to use the adjacent sidewalk. He noted there is no adjacent sidewalk in this area. Mr. Knowles said the site plan did not anticipate any passenger loading or pedestrian traffic within the first 200 feet of Vineyard Avenue and all of the loading was further north on both Thiessen roadways. The school parking lot and the entire school would be oriented towards Old Vineyard Avenue and only the playground would be adjacent to New Vineyard Avenue. It was also assumed that the bicyclists would be using the multi-purpose trail. Mr. Brozosky believed it would be better to remove the bicycle lanes completely and force all of the bicyclists onto the multi-purpose trail. Mr. Knowles said because of all the right turn movements at roundabouts, it is best that bicyclists not have a designated lane because motorists are to busy watching each other, and it is assumed that bicyclists are to take their position in the slow moving traffic. Pleasanton City Council 16 10/18/05 Minutes