RESIDENT RILED ABOUT PROPOSED ROUNDABOUT

James Parker doesn't want a traffic circle or roundabout in his neighborhood.

He believes the city of Cape Girardeau should install traffic signals at the busy intersection of Sprigg, Normal and Washington streets.

Parker, who used to direct the Southeast Missouri State University Museum, lives in a house that backs onto the southeast corner of the intersection.

City Engineer Mark Lester said he is leaning toward a roundabout. Roundabouts cost less and supporters say they are safer.

But Parker isn't buying it. He doesn't believe a roundabout would slow down Sprigg Street traffic.

He said motorists on Sprigg race through the intersection. "It is just like a raceway coming down the hill."

He said the problem has become worse since Lexington Avenue opened at the north end of Sprigg.

Parker said a roundabout likely would cut into his landscaped hillside.

Parker said the city staff at first had talked about installing traffic signals. He said Lester's decision to consider a roundabout came as a surprise to neighbors who weren't consulted.

Parker said he learned of the possible roundabout when he visited City Hall about a month ago.

Parker said he told Lester that a traffic circle isn't the answer on a busy city street.

"There are going to be wrecks," he predicted. "It is going to be one big mess."

But Lester insists a roundabout could work at that intersection.

Officials with the Missouri Department of Transportation office in Sikeston also are looking at the possibility of constructing roundabouts.

Scott Meyer, the highway department's district engineer, said his agency hasn't built any roundabouts in Southeast Missouri. But the state's traffic engineers are starting to look at that option, he said.

A roundabout can have a calming influence on traffic, Meyer said. They typically feature trees and landscaping in the traffic circle island.

"People tend to slow down in them if you design them for that purpose," he said.

Roundabouts have come into favor with traffic engineers nationwide. "It is kind of a renaissance that is sweeping North America," Meyer said.

One Florida company, Alternate Street Design Inc., says traffic circles are "the safest and most attractive form of traffic control in the world."

The company cites the construction of roundabouts in Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, Georgia, Nevada, California and Washington.

The city of Seattle began building mini-roundabouts a decade so. So far, it has constructed over 600, according to Alternate Street Design.

The Cape Girardeau city engineering office has received information on roundabouts from the Florida firm.

Southeast Missouri State University wants the intersection improved. The school has agreed to pay half the cost and has set aside $60,000 for the project.

The university wanted traffic lights installed. But school officials said the final decision rests with the city.

The city engineer can recommend a roundabout to the city manager. The City Council ultimately will decide the issue.

Al Stoverink, the university's director of facilities management, said the university is worried about getting its shuttle buses and building maintenance vehicles across the busy intersection.

The university's new $850,000 facilities management service center will open later this year. The center adjoins Southeast's bus garage situated northeast of the Sprigg Street intersection.

It will house the university's building maintenance group, which includes plumbers, electricians and carpenters.

Southeast is planning to build a transit way through the center of campus to improve the traffic flow for the shuttle buses.

Even so, the buses still would have to cross the busy Sprigg Street intersection.

Pedestrians, particularly Southeast students, brave the traffic to cross Sprigg Street as they go to and from the campus.

Stoverink, who used to work in City Hall, said the intersection warrants traffic signals or other improvements.

"We certainly would like to see some improvements made there in the near future," he said.

"I do know there are residents in the area who would like to see something done," said Stoverink.

Parker said the intersection is a dangerous place for both pedestrians and motorists.

"There have been plenty of accidents, cars up in the yard," he said. "It is a very bad corner."