First Traffic Circle Gets a 3-Month Trial

The Public Works Department installed the city’s first traffic circle in an effort to avert further motor vehicle accidents and deaths at the intersection of Heil Avenue and Saybrook Lane.

The roundabout, as the configuration is called, is intended to establish a safer flow of traffic at an intersection where three people have died in recent years, said Bruce Gilmer, the city’s associate traffic engineer.

In modifying the intersection, the city did away with three-way stop signs that controlled the intersection but had done little to decrease accidents.

The 2-inch high asphalt curbing and related medians were added on Christmas Eve. There will be a three-month trial period for the circle as the city monitors traffic flow, Gilmer said.

A crossing guard has also been assigned to the southeast corner of the intersection to help school children in crossing.