GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For Kevin Poling, a roundabout at the intersection of Center and Weatherford Drives, or Green Ridge Square, just makes sense.
"You know, there's quite a lot of traffic over there and it would be nice to have a roundabout there and not just wait all of the time," said Kevin.
Bethany Poling says the intersection can get confusing at times, and thinks a roundabout at that intersection could make traffic flow smoother.
"Yeah, that intersection always trips me up every time I do it," said Bethany. "I don't know, I always pass it and get confused. I don't know, roundabouts just make it more convenient. If you miss your turn, you just circle it. I think it's great."
City Engineer for the City of Walker, Scott Conners, says the roundabout plan for Center and Weatherford Drives would be a 2024 project, would cost around $1.7 million, with $800,000 of it being paid through a carbon reduction grant from the state.
"That's an intersection where we have a very old traffic signal, it's pretty much outdated and it needs to be replaced," said Conners. "And this is the right time to look at innovative solutions. See if we can get away from the electric use and the maintenance that goes into the traffic signal. And a roundabout for that unique location seems to be the right choice."
Center Avenue is off Alpine Avenue, Conners hopes a roundabout will help alleviate some current problems of the area during heavy traffic.
"I mean, there's lots of benefits to this, I think one of the big ones is in efficiency, people aren't gonna have to wait at a red light anymore," said Conners. "If the traffic's low in there, you can just go right through the roundabout and you can find the driveway that you want to get to in the business you want to get to."
Conners says the new project will also bringing some beauty to the area.
"There's also a benefit, because this is going to be a facelift for that area," he said. "It'll be really nice to have a little bit of an aesthetic facelift to make the area look new and fresh. And we think this will help provide that, too."
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