Roundabouts or traffic circles have become the next big thing in our county over the last five years. They are expensive and slow down the traffic where a simple light would do a much better job.
From our state's Department of Transportation:
Preparations for SR 542 Anderson Creek project near Bellingham begin June 25
It will take a closure of Everson-Goshen Road near East Smith Road to get ready for a much bigger closure on State Route 542 (Mount Baker Highway) east of Bellingham that will begin a few weeks later.
During a 21-hour closure, starting Thursday evening, June 25, contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will build a compact roundabout that will serve as part of a detour during the SR 542 construction.
Crews will close SR 542 starting Monday, July 13, to build a new bridge over Anderson Creek that will replace two old culverts. The culverts are a maintenance issue and a barrier to fish passage. That work requires a 75-day closure of a section of the highway near the creek, located about four miles east of Bellingham. Traffic will detour onto Everson-Goshen Road and East Smith Road while the highway is closed.
Repairing the culvert is a needed task - a lot of debris accumulates there and Anderson Creek has enough flow to sustain a viable fish population.
To install a 'compact roundabout' where one is not needed is just plain excessive. The DOT has portable traffic light systems on trailers that they could set up for the duration.
As an anecdote, I lived in Boston 40 years ago and roundabouts were a big thing at that time. They were springing up everywhere. Back in 2008, Jen, me and my Dad went back to Boston for a friend's memorial service. I rented a car and drove around my old neighborhoods. With two exceptions, every single roundabout had been taken out with most of them being replaced by a traffic light.
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