From: Clara Eckert
Columbus
I have to share the absolute stupidest thing I’ve ever encountered: the roundabout at Southern Crossing and U.S. 31. Thank goodness someone had a smattering of intelligence and put lights up so one can see that tangled mess coming up.
My issue is with the process itself. As I was driving south on U.S. 31 trying to escape Columbus as fast as I can, I enter the roundabout with the word “Yield” on the pavement. Now, I understand what that means. Slow down to the posted 15 mph and if no one is in the merry-go-round, proceed with caution.
There just happens to be some northbound traffic, and I just sit and sit and sit … looking behind me for fear of someone texting on their phone and plowing into me. Cars in the roundabout don’t signal their intent to turn right and head on north on U.S. 31 or go around to Southern Crossing or God forbid get confused and just keep driving in a circle for hours and hours. So you don’t just pull out in front of someone since you don’t know what they are doing. You wait and wait.
Now, I can yield, and I come to another problem. The person on the Southern Crossing side has a gigantic “Yield” emblazoned on their side of the road. What if they don’t know exactly what “yield” means? What if they are too distracted with the latest iPhone release? What if they don’t even slow down? My thought the entire time is, “How in the world is this safer than a stoplight?” Maybe the answer is it’s not safer, but it’s more diverse because the rest of the crazy world uses the roundabouts. God knows we’re all about worshipping the god diversity, but that is for another letter and a different time. Finally after a tense few moments I’m back with my cruise control set on a rural stretch of highway.
