by Scott Fisher, Stevensville
A roundabout at Bell Crossing and 93? I come from a land of roundabouts and find them to be a great traffic control.
But not here.
The reason we have the problem of accidents at this crossing has more to do with judging speed, time, and distance than anything else. It’s hard to judge the speed, time, and distance of an oncoming car, daytime or night. It is challenging to accurately tell how many seconds it will take for you to be safe to enter or cross lanes. 75 MPH looks like 45 MPH at 300 yards. Especially to the less experienced driver or one with dimmed eyesight.
And look what you’re doing to the drivers coming at speed if you require the loaded 18-wheelers to drop from 75 to 15 and then get back to speed.
The solution is obvious. Really. Slow the traffic to 45 on the approach. It’s not a big problem for the heavy vehicles and a small inconvenience to the rest of us. Post a patrol car there for a week or two and we’ll all get used to it.
And it’s a much cheaper solution.