Officials: Roundabouts improve safety and traffic flow

GRANGER — On busy Gumwood Road, drivers will tell you the traffic can sometimes be a nightmare.

“Terrible,” one driver said as he waited in a line of cars and trucks at rush hour. “Very time-consuming.”

But St. Joseph County engineers have a fix. The 14-million dollar project will widen Gumwood in some parts, add a turn lane in others, and build two roundabouts: one at Brick Road and the other at Adams Road.

Love them or hate them, roundabouts are becoming more common in St. Joseph County. The two proposed for Gumwood would make numbers eight and nine. Another roundabout is in the works for Ironwood Road at Auten Road.

Jessica Clark, St. Joseph County engineer, said the county is using them for more than one reason.

“Roundabouts improve safety, improve traffic flow, reduce pollution and fuel use, and are an attractive amenity to the community,” she said.

Studies by the National Institute for Highway Safety show roundabouts reduce accidents by 40 percent, cut down on injuries by 80 percent, and there are 90 percent fewer serious injuries or deaths.

South Bend Police Capt. Phil Trent said that while there are no hard numbers, he knows they’ve worked here.

“Our experience [with local drivers] was a little learning curve and then things worked out … they work well once people learn,” Trent said.

The learning curve seems to be the challenge. One woman who’d just pulled off of Gumwood Road said she likes them … now.

“I do find them more convenient than the way it was before. At first I didn’t think I would. But I do. I like them.”

“Once you get used to them, I think they’re great,” said another driver.