Wooster officials present "peanut" roundabout plan for Burbank–Winkler–Goldman intersection

Wooster staff and their traffic consultant outlined a proposal to replace the closely spaced signalized intersections at Burbank, Winkler and Goldman with an oblong ("peanut") modern roundabout, describing the change as the safest and most efficient option after evaluating alternatives including added turn lanes and realignment.

The presentation, led by Joel (city presenter) and John Reisz, the city engineer, summarized safety and traffic studies cited by the state and national research bodies, described design features intended to accommodate buses, fire apparatus and school pedestrians, and put an initial construction target in 2027 with estimated costs of about $3.5 million to $4 million for the proposed roundabout.

Why it matters: city staff said recurring backups and frequent rear-end collisions between the two existing intersections cause delays, create emergency-response problems and will likely worsen as area development and school traffic increase. Staff cited crash- and delay-reduction data from agencies such as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Federal Highway Administration and noted that roundabouts dramatically reduce conflict points and severe crashes compared…