As I ponder what to do on Election Day, looking out the window at the rain falling , I decided to write a LTE.
I have been wanting for a year or two to give a report on our wonderful traffic circles (roundabouts ) in Bowling Green. I have worked with traffic signals since 1971. I like the operation of the Campbell Hill /Napoleon rd intersection, but as a much older person caution is the word of the day. If I am listening to a radio, it gets turned down. A note to the city folks keep the tall grasses to a very minimum, ground level flowers/ low maintenance plantings would be a better choice. Visibility to vehicles coming around the circle is very important .
Overall I would give this roundabout a B+
The roundabout at Wooster/Campbell Hill/Alumni Drive is another matter. As I have stated before, keep the inner circle planted with low to the ground cover , as the motorist is trying to watch vehicles making the turn.
Early mornings on most days this traffic circle works fine . The objective was to prevent vehicles running the red light of the traffic signal and causing a serious accident. I believe most vehicles going through the circle are going faster that the posted 15MPH.
Now the down side to this intersection. During major activities on BGSU campus, as was the case a couple weeks ago with the soccer tournaments, traffic entering the circle backs up and a BGSU/BG Police are needed to control traffic. It is a mess and traffic has backed up to the I-75 traffic circles. I think the time is now for ODOT / BG Engineering/BGSU to plan for a future solution to this problem.
For a grade Campbell Hill/ Wooster deserves a C at best.
Thank you all for reading this rather long LTE.
Michael Stacklin
Portage
