Some advice: Dont do it!
July 3, 2008 · Updated 8:42 PM
After over two years, I have returned to Oak Harbor just in time to save it from a huge mistake! Please do not even think about putting a roundabout at Sharpes Corner! There was one just a few blocks down the street from where I lived in Marysville. It not only appeared that no one knew what a Y-I-E-L-D sign spells, but for the few who might have known, it was a challenge to see who could ignore it first.
That roundabout was a poorly thought out, expensive answer to a congested traffic problem and one of the most dangerous places I had ever driven through. There were constant near-misses and enough direct hits for me to decide that using the I-5 corridor to Smokey Point, which is famous for its deadly accidents, was infinitely safer than the roundabout on 51st that the WDOT and some panel of engineers came up with.
In my experience, the 51st Street roundabout serves about two-thirds less traffic than Sharpes Corner. Can you imagine how many of the cars at the Sharpes Corner roundabout will be driven by witless, yield-sign-challenged drivers who have a penchant for shift-and-spin circles on two wheels?
Ginny Weeks
Oak Harbor
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