Curmudgeon's Corner
cur-mud-geon: anyone who hates hypocrisy and pretense and has the temerity to say so; anyone with the habit of pointing out unpleasant facts in an engaging and humorous manner
Roundabouts
The roundabout that would've been constructed at the Wausaukee Road/Mequon Road intersection was ultimately replaced with a more traditional light-controlled intersection with turn lanes. That happened after the process became a political 'hot potato'. The concerns were centered on the fact that Mequon Road is State Highway 167 and that Wausaukee Road was a major feeder route for garbage trucks headed to and from the landfill just across the border between Germantown and Menomonee Falls. Very serious accidents had happened in this intersection.
A new, partially-completed, roundabout is now in use at the intersection of County Highway Q and State Highway 164. It will ultimately have two lanes and will accomodate the largest trucks for which special permits are not required due to over-length. I spoke with a DOT engineer about roundabouts in general. He sent me reams of engineering detail that attests to the fact that roundabouts, after a "break-in" period (my term) during which 'low severity crashes' might be a bit higher, result in reductions in the number and severity of accidents. The break-in period is apparently from one to as much as three years depending upon location and whether urban, suburban or country.
Once fully incorporated by the population, roundabouts show average reductions of 90% in fatal accidents, 75% in injury-causing accidents and an overall reduction of 35% in total crashes. It seems, from my review of the data provided, that crashes tend to be more weighted to rear-end collisions which makes sense given how one approaches and merges into the stream of a roundabout.
It may simply be my curmudgeonly disposition, but I continue to have concerns over roundabouts. I frankly may use Hillside Road from Q to 164 when going south rather than to drive through the roundabout. I've used the partially-completed roundabout twice so far and will use it twice today. Maybe it will become old hat and I'll forget my initial concern.
I'd be curious to know your thoughts.
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CORRECTION: I noted, based on erroneous information from a contact, that The Livery received the fees from vendors involved with the Farmer's Market. That is incorrect. The fees collected go to the village according to Dave Schornack.
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The Curmudgeon Blog today is titled "Garbled Message or Intentional Distortion?".
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