County hears Intercity Transit study; consultants recommend roundabout at Martin Way and Meridian to restore bus turnaround

Intercity Transit and consultant SCJ Alliance presented findings to the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners on Aug. 5 recommending a roundabout at the Martin Way and Meridian/Marvin Road intersection to restore a bus turnaround and support future high-frequency transit service.

The recommendation matters because Intercity Transit says the turnaround would allow it to resume Route 62 service along Martin Way without the extra vehicles and operating cost required by the current detour. Peter Stackpole, development director for Intercity Transit, said, “Intercity Transit has not, at this point, applied for construction funding, and we will not do so until the first phase is complete, including the public outreach and engagement.” The project team recommended the roundabout as the preferred alternative largely on safety, operational performance and grant competitiveness.

SCJ Alliance traffic analyst Ryan Shea and project lead Patrick Holm presented an Intersection Control Evaluation that compared three options: keep the existing signal, modify the signal to include a bus turnaround signal phase (a signalized bus U-turn), or build a single-lane roundabout. The consultants modeled opening-year and 2045 traffic.

Their analysis found the…