Highway and street officials, please get over the roundabout fad. In almost all cases, I believe they obstruct rather than facilitate traffic. In fact, around here, they are designed to obstruct the flow of traffic by requiring it to turn radially inward rather than entering tangentially. And in cases where a roundabout might be justified, they are too small in diameter, requiring trucks to drive outside their lane and endangering any cars that might be alongside. I'm talking about the Guide Meridian, Nugents Corner, Northwest at Interstate 5, Smith and Mount Baker Highway, Cordata Parkway, etc.

I see in the Jan. 30 Bellingham Herald that you are planning a roundabout at Northwest and McLeod. This is a perfect example of where the present traffic signals are working just fine. And there are rumblings about a roundabout at Wharf and Boulevard, where traffic currently flows well with just signs. I know that you have money from the transportation initiative coming out of your pockets, but spend it on something useful like repaving rough or pot-holed highways and streets.

Denis Hayner

Bellingham