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 roundabout would operate at level of service A with short queues (opening-year maximum queue about 120 feet) and similar performance in 2045, while the bus-turnaround signal would show larger queues (about 335 feet opening year and 590 feet in 2045). The existing signal would experience roughly 335–565 feet of queue in the scenarios studied. The consultants also compared collision conflict points and said the roundabout would reduce vehicle–pedestrian conflict points and lower collision severity.

The SCJ Alliance estimate for construction was $4,800,000 for a roundabout compared with roughly $1,300,000 to modify the existing signal. Project funding would be Intercity Transit’s responsibility, the presenters said. Karen Wiese, Thurston County public works director, told the board the county would bring an interlocal agreement (ILA) to the board later to define roles and responsibilities if the project proceeds; Intercity Transit would carry construction costs.

Public comment at the meeting was dominated by residents from Ridgeview and nearby subdivisions. Michael Werner, a Ridgeview 2 Homeowners Association board member, said he planned to work with Intercity Transit and the traffic engineers but listed three recurring neighborhood concerns: whether the roundabout is needed given existing turnaround options, whether gaps at a roundabout will allow safe entry to Ridgeview Drive, and the effect on residents who rely on Ridgeview to reach I-5. “I’m just not convinced of that,” Werner said when discussing the engineers’ gap models.

Several other residents expressed stronger opposition. Larry Taylor of Ridgeview 2 said, “We’re here again. We’re still against it,” and presented local crash data he said showed high accident counts at some roundabouts. Steve Kern and Laura Kern, both Ridgeview residents, urged the county to consider neighborhood access and traffic volumes; Kern said the nearby area includes “over 400 houses” and argued that a continuous roundabout flow could make left turns from Ridgeview Drive more difficult. Kathy Smith, also a Ridgeview resident who reviewed crash-rate details, disputed the worst-case interpretation and noted that the referenced roundabouts had low rates of major injuries or fatalities compared with other intersections.

County staff acknowledged the neighborhood concerns and committed to targeted public outreach if the project moves forward. County manager Leonard Hernandez said staff will use contact information provided by residents to send updates and invitations to future meetings; Wiese recommended that homeowners’ associations consider adopting formal positions to help county decision-making.

Next steps identified by staff: Intercity Transit and the county will undertake a public outreach plan targeted to impacted neighborhoods, then — contingent on that work and Intercity Transit’s internal decisions — Public Works would bring an interlocal agreement to the board authorizing Intercity Transit to proceed with design and construction phases. No formal board vote on the project or funding occurred at the Aug. 5 meeting.

The presentation referenced coordination with the Thurston Regional Planning Council’s regional demand model and noted Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife permitting would be required for some elements. Staff said grant competitiveness was part of the evaluation; the report recommended the roundabout as most likely to support future grant funding because of safety and long-term operations.

Residents who testified asked the board for more time and clearer data on access impacts, crash histories, and police response time. Commissioners accepted public comment and directed staff to continue outreach and to present any future interlocal agreement before the board for direction.