Staff defends East 51st design choices, warns redesign would add years and cost

Transportation staff told the Mobility Committee that adding roundabouts to the current East 51st design would have material cost and schedule consequences.

Director Richard Mendoza said the 2012 vision suggested roundabout feasibility studies, but consultants later recommended two‑lane roundabouts that would require additional right‑of‑way, potential parkland acquisition, utility relocations and significant drainage mitigation triggered by impervious‑cover increases tied to the Atlas‑14 floodplain revisions. "To include the roundabout at this stage ... the right‑of‑way impacts would potentially require the acquisition of no less than four parcels," Mendoza said, adding that utility relocations and condemnation processes could add at least two years to the timeline.

Staff said the current 100% design includes protected intersections, landscape medians, protected bike and pedestrian facilities within the existing roadway and curb radii adjustments to shorten crossing distances. Assistant Director Anna Martin said the design team is making minor geometric fixes to the bike path at 51st & Berkman in response to open‑house comments, and that a pedestrian hybrid beacon at Tilly (outside the project boundary) will advance on separate funding.

On schedule and budget, staff said the preliminary engineering and design changes produced cost escalation since the 2012 bond, that the project was only partially funded in 2012 and that staff had identified additional capital funds to move design forward, with a resubmittal for permitting targeted in early 2027 and construction advertised for bid thereafter. Construction is forecast to begin in late 2027 and take about two years, pending permitting and bidding.