Consultants favor signalized intersection at Liberty Pike and Mallory Lane; board and advocates press for stronger pedestrian protections

City staff and consultants recommended that the board revise the design for the Liberty Pike and Mallory Lane intersection from the previously proposed pair of roundabouts to a signalized intersection, citing updated traffic projections and right-of-way constraints.

"The roundabout... was not going to function, for the design year of 2050, that it would fail substantially," a project staff member said, summarizing RK&K and Cool Springs study findings and explaining that the signalized option would operate at an acceptable level of service through the design year while reducing substantial right-of-way impacts and costs.

Public commenter Ned Danenberg of Bike Walk Franklin urged the board to prioritize pedestrian safety, saying the submitted traffic study "doesn't show a single mention of pedestrians" and asking, "Is this a place an 8 year old or an 80 year old would be safe crossing in the road?" Danenberg recommended median refuge islands, narrower turning radii and other measures to slow turning speeds.

Alderman Burger urged more time for discussion and highlighted safety benefits of roundabouts, arguing in part that "Roundabouts are safer" because they reduce conflict points and provide continuous flow. He and other board members requested additional comparative data for nearer-term horizons (10–15 years) rather than only 2050 projections and asked staff to return with design concepts that explicitly show pedestrian and bicycle accommodations.

Staff acknowledged tradeoffs between long-term capacity, right-of-way needs and neighborhood context and said it will return concept designs that meet 2050 design standards while allowing the board to evaluate scaled alternatives and pedestrian treatments. No final vote was recorded on the design at the meeting.