Comments on: Mailbag: Petaluma roundabout, illegal U-turn

By: Evelyn

Evelyn — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:38:19 +0000

Personally I think it was poorly designed and it is in the WRONG place. It’s like threading a needle. Ever since that abomination was installed, my commute time has increased. You have all these people commuting going from two lanes to one, then back to two, then to one again creating a MAJOR bottleneck. I even had a guy at the traffic division admit that it was poorly designed at the wrong angles. They said the same thing to me about the roundabouts on McDowell and Ely. Maybe they need to hire a new engineer because they are nothing like most roundabouts in Europe, that flow efficiently and seamlessly.

By: joel

joel — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 21:34:54 +0000

So glad that you posted my question and that I was correct in thinking that this was probably illegal. It is sooo dangerous! Hopefully this will discourage just a couple of people pulling that illegal u-turn on Stony Point because I’m surprised that i haven’t yet seen an accident. Plus, as the legal left-turner in that situation, I always have to wait for the other car to make their maneuver because I do not trust that the cars behind them won’t abruptly pull into the other lane and speed off if I attempted to make my turn while they had traffic stopped behind them.

By: stephen

stephen — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 17:09:50 +0000

Thank you for getting my question answered.

It’s a shame they claim that 45mph is too fast for a roundabout entry, as many 45 mph streets have stop signs. In terms of entry speed, it seems like 45-0mph would be tougher than 45-15mph.

Stephen

By: DDS

DDS — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:47:33 +0000

As a resident of a home abutting Petaluma Boulevard South near the roundabout, I am quite pleased to see Petaluma PD regularly enforcing the speed limit in this area. Folks entering and leaving Petaluma via PBS treat it like a race track. Its time a little respect was given to nearby residents. As such, I take pleasure in hearing the rumble of the Petaluma PD’s motor units early weekday mornings.

I am happy to hear the road diet program may be extended between D Street and McNear Avenue. I’d actually like to see the road diet extended to the roundabout. There is no reason why PBS needs to be a sea of asphalt that encourages speeding.

For those complaining about the roundabout, if you can’t figure out how to safely navigate this type of intersection I question whether you should be operating a vehicle. Its really not that hard.

By: The Big Dog

The Big Dog — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 18:14:30 +0000

Ask Sgt. Savano how Petaluma PD is at least partially underwriting costs of vehicles and equipment on fine revenue and forfeitures. Speed limits on a number of streets are artificially low and creating what we used to call “cherry patches” when I was in the business where ticket writing becomes like shooting fish in a barrel.

Lakeville near the now closed railroad crossing is a prime example.

By: J.D.

J.D. — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 17:39:35 +0000

I would tend to discount Savano’s explanation. His dept. is highly motivated by monetary considerations. A prime example is that agency’s addiction to DUI checkpoint grant money.