Illustration courtesy of Skipper Consulting
City officials are focusing on one circular layout that maximizes green space inside the circle and includes sidewalks.
The city of Mountain Brook is exploring the construction of a roundabout at Memory Triangle, a busy convergence of Memory Lane, Memory Court and Country Club Road, in an effort to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety.
During a recent City Council pre-meeting, Richard Caudle of Skipper Consulting presented conceptual plans and cost estimates for the roundabout, which would replace the current mix of traffic signals and stop signs that have struggled to manage peak-hour traffic.
Currently, Memory Triangle has two-way roadways on each side of the triangle. The intersections of Country Club Road and Euclid Avenue with Memory Court and Dan Watkins Drive are controlled by a traffic signal (one controller for both intersections). The other intersections are controlled by side-street stop signs.
According to a feasibility study funded through the Advanced Planning, Programming and Logical Engineering (APPLE) program, the intersection currently sees significant backups, particularly during morning and evening rush hours. Queues on Country Club Road have occasionally stretched toward the entrance of the Country Club of Birmingham, with left-turning vehicles at Memory Lane identified as a key contributor to the delays.
The study reported that “since there is no exclusive left-turn lane for this movement, all traffic is stopped when one driver desires to turn left but cannot immediately make the maneuver because of westbound traffic on Country Club Road.”
Three design options were considered, but city officials have narrowed it down to one circular layout that maximizes green space inside the circle and includes sidewalks.
Traffic analysis showed that the proposed roundabout would maintain or improve levels of service across the intersecting roads, even during peak hours. Simulation models indicated the new design would reduce delays and avoid backups that currently stretch into nearby intersections.
“We do show reducing the queue that backs up toward the Country Club in the afternoon on Country Club Road,” said Caudle. “The other thing that is a significant impact is a projected reduction in crashes.”
Between 2019 and 2024, there were 27 crashes in the Memory Triangle area, including six involving injuries. Skipper Consulting cited a study of 23 roundabouts in Georgia that indicated a 37–48% reduction in average crash frequency for all crashes and a 51–60% reduction for injury/fatal crashes at four-leg roundabouts that were converted from stop-controlled and conventional intersections.
The estimated cost of the project is approximately $2.28 million, according to the city’s engineering documents. That includes nearly $1.9 million in construction costs, a 20% contingency, and roughly $240,000 in construction engineering and inspection fees. No right-of-way acquisition is anticipated.
Due to the cost of the project and lack of immediate funding, no official decisions regarding the project have been made, and the proposal will return to the council before it moves ahead.
“It’s not in the city’s budget,” Caudle said. “There are no federal funds available until the year 2028 to do something like this, so no decision has been made whether or not the project would go forward and if there would be any changes.”
