The Newsleaders
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Sartell – St. Stephen
    • St. Joseph
    • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Column
    • Editorial
    • Letter to the Editor
  • Community
    • Calendar
    • Citizen Spotlight
    • Criers
    • People
  • Notices
    • Funerals/Visitations
    • Obituary
    • Police Blotter
    • Public Notices
    • Support Groups
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Submissions
  • Archives
    • Sartell-St. Stephen Archive
    • St. Joseph Archive
  • Advertise With Us
    • Print Advertising
    • Digital Advertising
    • 2021 Promotions
    • Pay My Invoice
The Newsleaders
No Result
View All Result

PineCone Pet Hospital CSB/SJU Fine Arts "Bela Fleck"
Home News

Round and round goes the roundabout debate

March 12, 2015
in News, Sartell – St. Stephen
1
Roundabout completed, drivers relieved

photo by Logan Gruber Drivers seemed to have no problem adapting to the new intersection when it opened Wednesday morning.

0
SHARES
1
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

by Dennis Dalman

editor@thenewsleaders.com

The debate about roundabouts – love ‘em or hate ‘em – continues unabated, especially in Sartell where they seem to have been cropping up like mushrooms in springtime.

At the March 9 city council meeting, roundabout designer Andrew Plowman of the Twin Cities-based MSB Associates, spoke to the council about the benefits of roundabouts compared with other types of controlled intersections.

An announcement a couple of months ago by Sartell City Engineer Mike Nielson that there might be as many as nine roundabouts on Pinecone Road caused controversy among residents. Later, however, Nielson emphasized the number “nine” was meant as only a possibility that might happen over a 30- to 50-year period.

Even so, the city council voted to approve plans and specs for three roundabouts to be built this year as part of Pinecone Road improvements. (See related story in today’s paper.)

Plowman has designed nearly 100 roundabouts far and wide. A “roundabout craze” has definitely taken hold throughout the nation, he said, to the point that some states (New York and Virginia, to name two) won’t even consider other intersection-control methods until roundabouts have been thoroughly discounted, case by case.

In study after study, roundabouts have proven to be much safer in decreasing the number of serious-injury accidents because of lower speeds of vehicles at a roundabout and because head-on crashes or T-bone accidents are virtually impossible at a roundabout. Serious and fatal accidents are virtually eliminated because of roundabouts, Plowman assured the council.

Council members Amy Braig-Lindstrom and David Peterson expressed concerns about safety for pedestrians and/or bikers in roundabout areas. Plowman said they have also been proven to be very safe for pedestrian crossings, giving examples, such as one in Richfield located near a community pool where children cross near the roundabout frequently. Another one in Shakopee, near a school, caused many alarms, but once it was constructed, parents have praised it as very safe for pedestrian children. Plowman said he has never heard of pedestrian tragedies at the roundabouts currently used in Minnesota.

Plowman cited crash statistics about three Pinecone Road intersections in recent years, with the traffic-lights one at Pinecone and 2nd Avenue S. being the worst (21 crashes in 2014).

Another benefit of roundabouts, Plowman added, is that building them requires less space and therefore less need for obtaining rights-of-way.

photo by Logan Gruber Drivers seemed to have no problem adapting to the new intersection when it opened Wednesday morning.
photo by Logan Gruber
Drivers seemed to have no problem adapting to the new intersection when it opened Wednesday morning.
Previous Post

Beltline Project seeks funding for next phase

Next Post

March 20

Next Post

March 20

Please login to join discussion

CMCU murphy granite CentraCare

Chamber Music Society virtual concerts by ARTARIA STRING
QUARTET
MILL CITY STRING
QUARTET
chambermusicstcloud.org Livestream:
Saturday, May 1, 7:30 pm
available to view through May 31 Livestream:
Saturday, March 27, 7:30 pm
available to view through April 26
Senior Linkage SUPPORT FOR
OLDER ADULTS
DURING COVID-19
Senior LinkAge Line connects
older adults and caregivers
to essential services and
supports during the pandemic.
800-333-2433
Whitney Senior Center whitney senior center
wellness workshops
1527 Northway Drive, St. Cloud health coaches
for hypertension
Mondays
April 26-June 14
10-11:30 a.m.
In-person at Heritage Hall

Fridays
May 21-July 16
9:30-11 a.m.
In-person at
Whitney Senior Center/Zoom

Search

No Result
View All Result

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Local playwright wins contest, on-air radio performance
  • JoeTown Rocks a no-go again
  • Hearing on abjudication of intestacy & determination of heirship – Jerabek-Kavanagh estate
  • Families flock for birdhouse kits
  • The sweet smell of syrup flows in St. Joseph

City Links

Sartell
St. Joseph
St. Stephen

School District Links

Sartell-St. Stephen school district
St. Cloud school district

Chamber Links

Sartell Chamber
St. Joseph Chamber

Community

Calendar

Citizen Spotlight

Criers

People

Notices

Funerals/Visitions

Obituary

Police Blotter

Public Notices

Support Groups

About Us

Contact Us

News Tips

Submissions

Advertise With Us

Print Advertising

Digital Advertising

2021 Promotions

Local Advertising Rates

National Advertising Rates

© 2021 Newleaders

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Sartell – St. Stephen
    • St. Joseph
    • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Column
    • Editorial
    • Letter to the Editor
  • Community
    • Calendar
    • Citizen Spotlight
    • Criers
    • People
  • Notices
    • Funerals/Visitations
    • Obituary
    • Police Blotter
    • Public Notices
    • Support Groups
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Submissions
  • Archives
    • Sartell-St. Stephen Archive
    • St. Joseph Archive
  • Advertise With Us
    • Print Advertising
    • Digital Advertising
    • 2021 Promotions
    • Pay My Invoice

© 2021 Newleaders

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In