Thank you for that much needed feature article on roundabouts in Sunday’s Herald. Discussion on this subject is much needed as there are too many people with uninformed bias’s against roundabouts that need testing. I should know. I was one of them.

Several years ago DOT held a public forum at Port Susan Middle School in Stanwood to unveil its initial plans for improving the Highway 532 traffic corridor from I-5 Exit 212 to Camano Island. A prominent proposed feature of this plan was to turn many of the current traffic light intersections through Stanwood into roundabouts. I went to the meeting to voice my firm opposition to them. I listened to the reasoned presentations and arguments of the DOT engineers at that meeting and came home a believer. Roundabouts make a lot of sense for the Highway 532 corridor. Unfortunately, they were not popular with certain political powers and have been removed from the plan for cost reasons, according to one DOT spokesperson. I hope they get another look.

Traffic congestion on Highway 532 during commute hours seems one of the worst spots in Snohomish County. Improving the road will not help the throughput unless something is done to relieve the traffic choke points.

Larry Miller

Camano Island