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June 1, 1999Roundabout decision makingTraverse City city commissioners should be applauded for their choice of a roundabout design team that includes California expert Peter Doctors, who says he rejects as many projects as he accepts because they simply won't work.Now, should Doctors say a roundabout for the intersection at Eighth and Woodmere is a bad idea, city commissioners must have the courage to scrap the plan and the widespread expectations with it. This is not to say that a roundabout, in theory, is not a good idea. Studies are available that prove roundabouts are safer and more traffic efficient than their unsightly and awkward stoplight counterparts. Roundabouts, a much-better engineered type of traffic circle, look neat, too. The city commissioners know this, because they have been told. And told. A vociferous bunch of concerned citizens years ago brought alternative ideas for traffic planning to the forefront of the city's agenda. Look, there are better ways of doing things, they said. And, indeed, there are. Years later the pleas for more creative thinking are bearing fruit. After much discussion and debate, commissioners - to their credit - have responded to their constituents' desires. They have fully embraced the pursuit of a roundabout as the smart way to move traffic, the design of the future. The cheerleaders have followed. The folks that want the traffic calmed are anything but calm in their show of support. Renowned urban planner Dan Burden visited town to spread his gospel of roundabout. East Lansing is anxious for Traverse City to get started because it wants to build three of its own. The state Department of Transportation also is anxious for Traverse City to begin so its success can be shared with others, the first of what is envisioned as 100 more roundabouts in the state over the next five years. There have been financial commitments as well. At least $64,800 will be spent on preliminary design work. The entire project is estimated at $1.2 million, and whether the funds come from state grants, federal grants or the city's budget, the money ultimately will come from taxpayers. There have been hours and hours of meetings, pages upon pages of drafts and plans and agendas and memos on this roundabout project, this great idea for Traverse City, an All-American kind of city, the city that takes the proactive approach to preserve its much-heralded quality of life. And here comes Peter Doctors, the traffic expert from Santa Barbara, Calif., who promises that if the facts send him in this direction, he will not hesitate to say, "You people have put a lot of time, money and effort into this roundabout idea, but it won't work there. I wouldn't build it." And just like that, the grand plan would be over. Kaput. Like losing right at the end of the big game. Like narrowly losing on election night. Perhaps Peter Doctors will say a roundabout at Eighth and Woodmere will work splendidly. Skepticism will turn to appreciation as motorists find that intersection to be the safest and most efficient in town. And other communities will laud Traverse City for its determination to find a better way, and then they will follow our lead. But maybe not. If Peter Doctors, who has designed 20 roundabouts and has planned 25 others and whose credibility is on the line, says no, the Traverse City plan will not work, then city commissioners must have the courage to scrap the plan, despite all the hoopla and expectations. Traverse City should not be an example of what not to do.
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