SPRIGG STREET ROUNDABOUT DEBATE GOES ON; INTERSECTION HAS SEEN FEW ACCIDENTS IN RECENT YEARS

The city of Cape Girardeau is considering putting a roundabout or traffic circle at a Sprigg Street intersection where there have been few accidents over the past several years.

Over the past eight and a half years, there have been 48 accidents at the Sprigg, Normal and Washington streets intersection.

Seventy-nine percent occurred during the day, said Sgt. J.R. Davis, director of the Cape Girardeau Police Department's traffic division.

Twenty-six of the crashes happened in dry weather, 20 occurred in wet weather. Two of the crashes occurred during icy conditions, traffic records show.

The majority of the accidents occurred between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. No pedestrians were struck in the accidents.

In 51 percent of the cases, motorists on Washington and Normal failed to yield to Sprigg Street traffic.

In 1996, there were six accidents at that location. In 1997, there were only three accidents. Last year, there were seven crashes in the intersection.

Over the past 12 months ending Thursday, there have been 11 accidents at that intersection.

Only two accidents resulted in injuries. Four persons were injured in those accidents, Davis said.

Southeast Missouri State University officials say the intersection near campus is dangerous both for students seeking to walk across Sprigg Street and motorists.

Students regularly cross Sprigg Street at a marked crosswalk at the intersection.

The university had wanted the city to install traffic signals. But City Engineer Mark Lester said the intersection meets only one of the criteria for traffic signals.

"It met the accident criteria by one," he said.

Lester said the accident criteria for traffic lights focuses on certain types of accidents as opposed to all accidents.

There are stop signs on Normal and Washington. But Lester said making the intersection a four-way stop isn't the answer.

The intersection sits in a valley between two hills. There is a limited line of sight for motorists traveling north or south on Sprigg Street, Lester said.

If traffic were stacked up at the intersection, it could lead to cars coming over the top of the hills and hitting other vehicles from behind.

A traffic count over a five-day period in March showed 13,456 vehicles a day travel through the intersection, either northbound or southbound on Sprigg.

In contrast, 2,568 vehicles a day approached the intersection from Normal and Washington. Of those, 1,620 were eastbound on Normal, heading away from the campus.

"If you look at the traffic counts, why should I stop 14,000 cars a day for no reason so that 2,000 cars can get across the street or whatever," said Lester.

Unlike traffic signals, the city doesn't have any standards as to where roundabouts should be built.

But Lester said he believes the Sprigg Street intersection is suitable for a traffic circle.

With a roundabout, there would be yield signs for all traffic.

He said it would make it easier for motorists to cross or turn onto Sprigg Street. At the same time, traffic wouldn't have to stop on Sprigg.