Older drivers uncomfortable with roundabout way of moving traffic

Older drivers uncomfortable with roundabout way of moving traffic

A recent Vindicator carried a report on a plan to improve the intersection of Mathews and Sheridan Roads by building a “roundabout” (traffic circle) to replace the red-green lights presently in service. Local officials say that the new design would reduce delays, accidents and collision-related injuries. This observer, who just became an “instant expert” by searching Wikipedia and other Internet sources on this subject, feels uncomfortable with the proposed change. Here’s why.

The Mathews-Sheridan intersection is in a pleasant residential area near the eastern border of Boardman Township. It is quiet most of the day, although it can get plugged up during rush hours. Both streets have just a single lane in each direction, with high curbs and no way to get around a vehicle that is waiting for a chance to make a left turn. It has long been obvious that the congestion, delays and some of the fender-benders could be relieved by widening the streets to make room for left turn lanes.

Roundabouts are reported to reduce accident-related injuries because collisions are fewer and usually occur at slower speeds (seldom over 30 mph). They save petroleum and reduce air pollution because no vehicle sits waiting for a red light to turn green. It is said that drivers are uncomfortable with roundabouts at first but learn to cope with them with time and coaching by local news media.

This observer has gained some experience with roundabouts in Golden, Col., while visiting our son, a civil engineer who lives there. From that experience, I believe that installing a roundabout at Mathews and Sheridan Roads would be more problematic than what has been experienced in Golden. In that city, there is a series of roundabouts every few blocks along a main thoroughfare, rather than just one at a quiet neighborhood intersection that many local people will never see. Also, our local community probably has a significantly higher proportion of seniors (like this observer) than the one in Colorado, which suggests that it would be more difficult here to get people to change their driving habits. For example, drivers must always slow down almost to a stop and look to their left before entering a roundabout, because vehicles coming from that direction have the right of way. It would also be more difficult here to coach all drivers on roundabout driving techniques when only a minority of them will ever use the one at Mathews and Sheridan.

Maybe it would be better to install left-turn lanes and skip the roundabout idea.

Robert D. Gillette, Poland

Tri-County Tea Party defined

Recent letters to the editor have taken issue with the role of the Tri-County Tea Party, in terms of our position on the renewal of the county sales tax and on our alleged involvement with the Republican Party. Allow me to set the record straight.

The Tri-County Tea Party is on record as supporting the renewal of the county’s sales tax because it would be irresponsible to do otherwise. Considering that the tax renewal represents 44 percent of the county’s operating budget and that passage of the measure, by vote of the people, would not raise anybody’s taxes in this county, what possible benefit could be gained by its defeat?

Would the citizens of this county be well served by having the courthouse shut down, our sheriff’s department neutered and our courts idled?

Is the Tri-County Tea Party somehow in the “hip pocket” of the Republican Party? Hardly. But let me assure the critics that we are certainly more at home with the Republican Party — local, state, and national — than we could ever be with the Democratic Party. And why shouldn’t we be?

We oppose the reckless spending spree that is going on in Washington. We oppose socialized medicine. We oppose cap and trade. We oppose the bailouts of Wall Street. We oppose the whole socialist agenda that the Democrats in Washington want to thrust upon us. And to the extent that local and state Democrats support all of this, we oppose them, too.

On the other hand, we favor principles of limited government. We favor lower taxes at all levels. We favor the free enterprise economics that have made America the envy of the world. And, we favor bringing the costs of government down even if it means concessions by the unions that are running the local, state, and federal government. Most, but not all, Republicans champion the issues we favor.

Let’s not forget that the very genesis of the tea party movement can be found in the spontaneous, grass-roots protest over the radical left agenda that has been put into motion by President Barack Obama and his liberal cohorts in Congress, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

Anita Fraser, Salinville

The writer is president of the Tri-County Tea Party.

Keep an eye on evil government

I’ve been receiving a lot of really good informational e-mails from some of my diehard Republican friends lately and I think I’m starting to see the light.

They say the government is wasting a lot of their hard earned tax dollars on programs and issues that should be left up to the people to take care of themselves. They say the government keeps sticking its nose in everyone’s business, like health care, for example. I’m starting to agree with them.

Take Medicare. Why is the government taking our hard earned money to make sure old people have proper health care? Folks should just save their money, invest wisely, and when they get old, they will be able to take care of their own health care. And if they had to pay for it themselves, they wouldn’t run to the hospital for every little heart attack or stroke.

Then there’s Workers’ Compensation. Do we really need that? I say give me that money in my paycheck and I’ll be really careful I don’t get hurt at work.

Let’s not forget Unemployment Compensation. Those people are getting checks for not working?? I’m pretty sure that I will never be laid off, and my company will never go out of business, so I would like that money in my paycheck too, please, and I don’t want to use my tax dollars for others who might find themselves in that position.

I know kids who went to school with my kids that got free breakfasts and lunches. That’s money coming out of my pocket. Do those kids really need to eat every meal?

How about all the other stupid programs like the ones that take care of the handicapped and the mentally challenged? It makes me cringe when I think what that cost me every week.

Welfare? We won’t even go there.

I say, “Put that money in my paycheck, and I’ll take care of all this stuff myself.”

And, friends, please, keep those e-mails coming. I’m learning so much.

Darryl Thomas, North Jackson

Why are drug prices a secret?

Imagine going to the grocery store, gas station or department store and inquiring about the prices and being told, “until we run your card, we cannot give that information.” There would be an outcry of outrage by consumers and the demand for action would be immediate.

Yet, go into a pharmacy and ask for the cost of your scripts before they are filled, and the stock answer is, “we cannot give the prices until we process your script.”

Does the cost of the drug change by time of day?

Does the price depend on who your insurance carrier is?

Does the price of a drug change for each individual?

Is there a random formula for pricing?

Why do we allow this to go on unanswered?

We would not stand for this treatment by any other business. Why do we permit ourselves to be manipulated by pharmacies?

Patricia A. Turk, Boardman