Traffic In Augusta Rotaries Prompts Temporary Ban On New Business

There is no doubt that some of the most dangerous "intersections" in the City of Augusta are the Memorial and Cony rotaries.  In fact, those traffic circles have far more crashes than any other intersections in the state!  It looks like the City Council has taken note of this and is looking into ways to help with the problem.

According to the KJ, the Augusta City Council has enacted a temporary ban on new businesses that would increase the amount of traffic on the traffic circles.  The ban will last for 180 days.

The councilors were concerned not only about crashes between vehicles, but also the increased potential for a vehicle to hit a pedestrian.

The concern arose when a company expressed an interest in opening a coffee shop in the building currently occupied by New Dimension Federal Credit Union.  That building sits directly on the Cony Traffic Circle.

The article quoted Director of Development Services Matt Nazar as saying:

That would be a use of very high-traffic volume into and out of the site, that would create a significant hazard with respect to traffic entering back onto Cony Circle and would also create a serious pedestrian safety hazard for crosswalks that are right there at the same location. And if you have a use that is using the drive-thru, it could quickly stack out onto Memorial Drive and create serious traffic safety issues on Memorial Drive as you exit Cony Circle.

According to the article, there were 154 crashes on the Memorial circle and 162 on the Cony circle in 2021.  The next most dangerous intersection in the state was a rotary in Sanford that only had 101 crashes in 2021.