New Albany Main and Market Streets Roundabout

Pedestrian-Friendly Roundabout Serves as Gateway to Village Center

The New Albany Company engaged OHM Advisors to identify the best solution to upgrade an existing intersection in the heart of the City of New Albany by comparing a traditional signalized intersection with a roundabout option. Our landscape architects and urban designers worked with the city and our firm’s architects, engineers, planners to determine which option would best provide efficient traffic flow through the area and create a “gateway” feature for the downtown. During the conceptual design phase, our team studied pedestrian crossings to identify best practices for moving foot traffic safely and efficiently through a vehicular setting. We also proposed multiple design alternatives to the standard roundabout, including several concepts with underground pedestrian tunnels.

In the end, the city determined that a single-lane roundabout with enhanced pedestrian crossings was the best option for the intersection in terms of safety and longevity. The final roundabout design is a 130’ diameter, single-lane roundabout that incorporates parallel parking, landscaped medians, wide sidewalks and tree boxes within the intersecting streetscape. We used high-end, earth-toned materials throughout, with patterned crosswalks made of brick to further beautify the pedestrian crossing locations. The center of the roundabout is elevated slightly to add visual impact, and is anchored by trees and a low granite wall.

Project Highlights: roundabout design, engineering design, landscape architecture, planning, urban design, pedestrian safety