Feedback: Roundabouts, bad traffic fix

I have been reading all the articles and letters generated by the roundabout hype here recently. I have a lot of experience with roundabouts after driving in Europe, Bahrain and Japan during my career in the Navy. I have also experienced driving through them here in the states, like the ones in Port Orchard and LaConner. They are not easily negotiated and take quite some time getting used to. We have a number of elderly drivers in our fair city who have difficulties just negotiating our current traffic nightmare, never mind adding an obstacle course which requires alertness and a planned exit.

I for one don’t see the traffic relief everyone else sees. I see a lot of accidents and traffic tied up for hours at the proposed Swantown (Cackle Corner) site. The talk of beautifying our city with roundabouts is ridiculous when what we really need is a sound fix to the traffic problems coming and going from our city.

Maybe we should have hired Mr. Brooks to look into that problem also. As a tourist, I would be highly upset if I had to drive in this cluster just to visit Oak Harbor and I probably wouldn’t come back just for that reason. Once we install these roundabouts, maybe we could erect statues in the center of each one to honor the idiots that think this is the fix of the century and create another distraction for the road weary.

Pete Sill

Oak Harbor

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