Morro Bay was getting a roundabout. Then City Council said it wasn’t safe
The Morro Bay City Council has halted progress on a controversial roundabout planned for the intersection of Main Street, Highway 1 and Highway 41.
On April 22, the council voted 3-2 to stop work on the project’s environmental impact study — which was 96% done.
If Morro Bay had completed the study, Caltrans would have funded and completed the design and construction of the roundabout at no cost to the city, Caltrans project manager Paul Valadão said.
The council majority voted to halt the project because they didn’t think the roundabout would be safe for pedestrians or adequately improve the flow of traffic on the west side of the highway.
“I don’t know that we need a roundabout to address the elephant in the room, which is upgrades to safety features,” Mayor Carla Wixom said.
So far, the city had spent had spent about $350,000 on the study, with $81,000 left to pay to complete it, Morro Bay public works director Greg Kwolek said.
Council members Bill Luffee and Cyndee Edwards cast the dissenting votes.
Luffee said the city should finish the environmental impact report and give Caltrans the chance to design the roundabout. If the council didn’t like the design, they could end the project then, he said.
Caltrans volunteered to build the roundabout as part of its Capital Maintenance Program. During this construction effort, Caltrans will improve all infrastructure in its right-of-way along Highway 1 from San Luisito Creek Road to southern Cayucos from 2028 to 2029, Valadão said.
This project comes along about every 25 years, he said.
Additionally, the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments pledged $8 million to the design and construction phase of the project, the staff report said.
Edwards argued that the council should use this opportunity to improve the intersection’s ability to manage the flow of traffic in a growing city.
“We have a partner or two that are looking to give us an opportunity that comes along once in 25 years,” she said. “To just kiss that goodbye, I struggle with.”
Edwards added that she believed a roundabout to be a safe option for both pedestrians and drivers.
At a future meeting, the Morro Bay City Council will vote on whether or not to officially end the project.
If they do so, the San Luis Obispo Council of Government’s Board of Directors could vote to complete the environmental impact study and partner with Caltrans to complete the roundabout, Valadão said.
Are roundabouts safe?
Right now, the intersection features a stop sign with a flashing light, and traffic tends to back up in the area during peak commute hours for Morro Bay High School.
In July 2023, the council voted 3-2 to direct staff to start the process for designing a roundabout, with Wixom and Landrum dissenting due to concerns about safety and funding.
But any dangers regarding roundabouts weren’t reflected in the staff report. In fact, GHD Inc. Consulting project manager John Rodgers said roundabouts are safer for pedestrians than a traffic signal.
Roundabouts reduce vehicle collisions by 33%, and pedestrian collisions are 40% lower at intersections with roundabouts instead of traffic signals, Rogers said in 2023, referencing national data.
That’s partly because the average speed through a roundabout is about 15 mph, but the average speed through a green light is 40 mph, he said.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration said roundabouts reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries because they “promote lower speeds and traffic calming,” “reduce conflict points” and “lead to improved operational performance,” the website said.
In Minnesota, there was an 86% reduction in the fatal crash rate and a 42% reduction in the injury crash rate at intersections where roundabouts were built, a report from the Minnesota Department of Transportation said.
Landrum, Wixom and Councilmember Jeff Eckles, however, maintained on Tuesday that roundabouts don’t improve safety in an area with high pedestrian traffic.
“I’m not willing to risk the safety or even possibly the life of one of our high school students,” Eckles said.
Wixom said she would prefer to see different safety improvements to the intersection, like high visibility crosswalks and pedestrian signals.
This story was originally published April 29, 2025 at 10:53 AM.
