CITY: EITHER FIX THE ROUNDABOUT OR GET RID OF IT

At some point in human history, hunters and gatherers probably got tired of wading across creeks and rivers.

Then someone climbed across a fallen tree, and the next thing you know they were cutting down trees on riverbanks everywhere.

But it is safe to assume not everyone thought bridges were the answer.

Hunters with vertigo very likely fell off the logs and into the streams.

Gatherers no doubt protested that the logs weren't conveniently located, which meant getting wet anyway.

In a way, Cape Girardeau is going through the same process today with its new roundabout.

The traffic circle at Gordonville Road and Silver Springs Road is the first in the city, and it has created more than its share of complaints.

City engineers insist that traffic studies and safety data are on their side. Roundabouts are safer than four-way stops, they say, and it's easier for motorists to get through intersections controlled by a traffic circle.

Be that as it may, it takes a long time for some motorists to adapt to change.

That would include motorists who have had the experience of smashing their tire rims against the protective inner curb of our very own roundabout.

And there is anecdotal evidence that larger vehicles have more than their share of problems negotiating the tight radius of our roundabout, although hospital officials at nearby St. Francis Medical Center say ambulances haven't reported any particular problems in reaching the emergency-room entrance.

But there's something wrong with the roundabout. The new extension of Silver Springs Road from the traffic-circle intersection to William Street remains unopened because the city doesn't want people to start using the new street only to have it closed when work starts on some sort of fix. And city officials say another roundabout would be the perfect solution at Hopper Road and Mount Auburn Road where new four-way stop signs have set off another furor. But, the city officials quickly add, they don't want to incur the wrath of motorists with another roundabout.

The city has taken too long to admit there are design problems at the existing roundabout, and it has dawdled far too long in doing something about it. Officials have even come up with a list of possible solutions with costs ranging from nothing (do nothing) to $111,000 (remove the roundabout and install stop signs, which would close the intersection for up to five weeks).

The biggest complaint is that cars keep running into the inner ledge, which could be tapered to avoid damage for about $40,000. Whatever the city intends to do, it needs to decide quickly and open the intersection -- including the new stretch of Silver Springs Road. If the city ever intends to build more roundabouts, it better make this first one work.