For Safety's Sake, Roundabouts Replaced Stop Lights, but Pileups Began Piling Up

WALL STREET JOURNAL | 1/18/02 | RICK BROOKS

[DeepBlueEdit]

Despite all these for and against protestations no matter where these are built, it seems the people in charge have found a new toy that is supposed to be a cure all for our traffic woes and they are going to put them in whether we want them or not claiming they know what’s best for us despite the driver confusion, disruption to businesses, expenditure of public funds to often “repair” something that isn’t really broken, etc. I am also hearing, and rather tired of it that we American drivers should just figure this thing out and live with it. They are proving themselves to be a nuisance to an awful lot of people and if they are more bother than they are worth, why are we still touting them as the best thing in traffic control? For what ever reason, people aren’t getting it so, we just keep building them? Makes sens to me if you have a pork barrel and want a pet project I suppose.

Look at it any one of these ways; would you trust your grandmother to be able to figure one of these things out safely? Can you in good conscience send a disabled person out to cross the street at one of these things (blind, wheelchair bound, etc) where the entire design principal is to not have vehicles ever come to a complete stop? Would you want to ride a bicycle or be around a bicycle rider in these things? Are these things supposed to be “pretty”? Here in Ohio we now have many of these darned things with 34 signs telling us dumb drivers how to use them. Sort of blows the beauty idea away doesn’t it? How many millions does it cost to remove an existing working non-broken 4-way stop with 4 signs and replace it with the purchase of additional land, repaving, moving water, sewage and electric lines (oh, and 34 signs telling us how to use it)?

Way too much not in their favor if you ask me. PS, lots of lawsuits are beginning to pop up over the disabilities act issues on these things. Some municipalities are now having to install red lights that will bring traffic to a halt allowing people to cross, isn’t that what they just spent millions trying not to do? Hmmm.