Coming round on a Roanoke traffic circle

It appears kudos are in order for the Roanoke Traffic Planning Department, and probably the Virginia Department of Transportation, as well.

The traffic circle, or roundabout as they are known in England, in Southeast Roanoke where Riverland Road, Bennington Street and Mount Pleasant Boulevard (Virginia 116) all come together is proving to be a success.

While it seemed to take a long time to complete, the end product works well and looks good doing it. Vehicles now flow more smoothly through what was a bottleneck that often caused long delays, resulting in frustration and wasted gas for drivers.

What a pleasure it is to keep moving, albeit at a slower rate, and not have to stop and wait for a timid driver to make a left turn. Another stop light or stop sign was not the answer, as keeping traffic moving was the goal.

So congratulations, planners. You got it right this time.

Now with the same objective in mind, how about replacing some stop signs with yield signs?

This would be a cheaper solution for some intersections, with the same result.

MIKE FERGUSON
ROANOKE

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