Town of Lebanon taxpayers should be aware that the town board’s decision to construct a roundabout at the County T/Collier Rd. intersection is a waste of taxpayers’ money. It will cost town residents $125,000.
Waupaca County recommended a traditional, reconstructed interchange with stop signs. However, the board opted for a roundabout, at a cost of $125,000 over and above the cost of the intersection.
Here’s why the board decision makes no sense:
1. Traffic counts at the intersection are “iffy” at best – taken on roads leading to the intersection. One shows 1,500 vehicles a day. This hardly supports the need for a roundabout. Roundabouts in more heavily traveled areas have 9,500 to 18,500 vehicles a day.
2. I have traveled through that intersection 10 times in the last four weeks. On three occasions I could see no vehicles anywhere. On all the other occasions I saw a total of about a dozen vehicles.
3. The safety issue has been cited as a key reason for the roundabout. Records show that there have been no accidents at this intersection in the last three years. There have been only three accidents since 2004. Coincidentally, a Fox Valley newspaper recently reported that the worst intersections (most accidents) in the Oshkosh area were at roundabouts.
Town residents should urge the board to make a better, more cost effective decision.