Building huge stores and parking lots isn't all that's necessary for the giant Union Commons retail development. Without better roads, it will make today's Bluegrass/Mission gridlock seem like child's play.

Michigan Department of Transportation consultants say like the developer's idea to open up an additional access from Business 127.

The most radical idea, at least for mid-Michigan, is the proposal to add a roundabout to Bluegrass and Mission.



Roundabouts work, cutting accidents, injuries and deaths. This also would be the cheapest fix for the Bluegrass/Mission mess. Computer modeling indicates it would work well even with twice today's traffic.

Expect strong local opposition.

(Update, 6:33 p.m., Aug. 31-- Woody Woodruff, the Union Township planning guy, had comments similar to these eaten by Blogger:

Mark's Story on the south end MDOT plans was great, too bad the nice graphics on the Insider didn't make print. I thank Jim C for his support of the roundabout.

There is a cool web cam site for one on VanDyke and 18 mile see http://69.215.29.34/view/index.shtml I have shown that site on our projection set up at meetings so our people could have some experience of them.

Locally, I think it needs to be stressed that these are not anything like the old traffic circle in Midland. The modern roundabouts have traffic entering the circle on a tangent so they never stop, the midland circle had traffic entering perpendicular to the circle, and stopping- it did not work well. If we are to engender acceptance of the roundabout here, that is the objection to over come.

At the meetings I have attended with MDOT, DLZ consultants were very high on the roundabout, and I am convinced that one at Bluegrass and Mission would be great. I have used them and don't buy the worst case scenario offered of Grammy and grandpappa caught in one. I commend CMU for the new indirect lefts on Broomfield, they are working great and bode well for what is planned for Old Mission and Biz 127. The backups on West Campus Drive for north bounders turning West on Broomfield are gone.

The graphics in question, those attached to this post, were difficult for me to read when I placed them on the page, so I opted to do without them.--E.B.)