Editorial/Op
Driving in Circles
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“I can’t believe they are building a Roundabout in front of the new schools. The one on Lovett Road is too small and that will never work on Sullivan.” That was the general sentiment among many people when the roundabout was announced for the Sullivan and Gurney intersection. I will admit that my first question for the School Board and other officials was “Will it be bigger than the Lovett roundabout?” With the answer being “Yes”, I was on board.
As a resident of Jackson Park, just a few yards from the roundabout, I can say without a doubt that it was a great decision. Once everyone, well almost everyone, understood that you don’t always have to stop before entering the intersection and you should not stop in the middle of the roundabout to let people in, traffic has rolled through the intersection even through the busy times. In fact, I can’t remember ever having to come to a stop to get through it. I have no roundabout complaints except about drivers stopping when they don’t need to.
I’d like to take a moment be fair to the Lovett Road roundabout, which was the biggest (or smallest?) reason people were against the one on Sullivan. Yes, it is a small roundabout, but it has slowed traffic on Lovett and accidents in the curve just east of the roundabout dropped off drastically when it opened. It was designed as a “traffic calming device” in addition to being a safe entrance to the new neighborhood. I’m not sure I would like to see any more that small, but the Sullivan roundabout is a new example as to how well they can work.
Let’s also remember a few other benefits of roundabouts. They don’t stop working after a storm or a power outage like traffic lights do. They are inexpensive and easy to maintain. And, best of all, they are safer since accidents in roundabouts are generally glancing blows as opposed to the “T-Bone” accidents in traditional intersections.
Why talk about roundabouts since these are already built? Because across the country they seem to be the preferred traffic device of the future, and Central is growing. The planned Hooper Road extension over the Amite River includes a roundabout at Hooper and Greenwell Springs as one possibility. As I hear discussion of other intersections such as Gurney and Lovett the word roundabout tends to come up. So, if Sullivan at Gurney has not been in your path of travel since the roundabout opened make a point to detour out this way and see it for yourself so you can have an educated opinion if you hear one is coming to an intersection near you.
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