Minnesota Department of Transportation officials were in town Monday night - and it was obvious they were doing their best to sell a skeptical Ely audience that we’d be better off chucking our two remaining stoplights for a couple of mini-roundabouts.
The audience wasn’t in a buying mood, and neither are we.
Roundabouts are the next big thing in traffic control, and during the public meeting at City Hall, MnDOT sold them as the best innovation since sliced bread.
We were told they’re cheaper, safer and more efficient than traffic lights.
They came armed with statistics and anecdotal reports, and indicated Ely’s traffic counts don’t warrant replacing the traffic signals at Third Avenue East and Central Avenue when it comes time to see them replaced.
Count us among the skeptical. Unlike the MnDOT folks who made the recommendation, we live here and seriously question how taking the stoplight out at Central or Third Avenue makes any sense at all.
During the winter Sheridan Street, as one drives down toward Central, can become a skating rink and we can envision an absolute mess at the bottom of the hill.
It’s also hard to believe that a roundabout would be more efficient during the busy summer months, particularly when vehicles come into town during hectic weekends.
There’s some humor here, too. One local citizen noted that the roundabout could wreak havoc with our annual July 4 parade, with participants coming up upon the planned roundabout at Third Avenue East and going in circles.
The good news out of Monday’s presentation is that change won’t occur anytime soon.
MnDOT doesn’t have the money to make its recommended change and the likelihood is that construction of any roundabout is years away.
That’s good and allows some time for common sense to prevail.
If money is the issue, perhaps our legislators can take consideration of Ely’s tourism economy and find the extra bucks to simply replace the stop lights.
We’re talking about $1.2 million or so, if MnDOT’s numbers are accurate.
Given that the current lights have lasted more than 40 years, that’s a small price to pay to keep what we have.
Former Mayor Ross Petersen said it best Monday that it feels like MnDOT is trying to force a “solution” on a reluctant audience.
We expect council members in Ely will too rise up in opposition and tell MnDOT “thanks, but no thanks.”
