TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Just mentioning the word 'roundabout' at the dinner table strikes a debate. And those discussions are about to get a little more intense with Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) planning for more than two dozen more to be built.
Jihad Shaheen manages the Grape Leaf Diner which was right in the middle of the heavily constructed roundabout project on McCord. Although it was an inconvenience at the time, he says it was worth it.
"Now that it's done, it is pretty nice," Shaheen said. "Usually there's a lot of traffic here, and now there's no trains. People aren't slowing on the railroad tracks, they're not waiting for the trains. It's smooth. I can actually get out onto McCord Road from this side, so it's a lot easier."
While there's a lot of mixed feelings on the need for them, engineers say there are benefits to them. They're designed to lower speed, eliminate signals, keep traffic moving, and most importantly reduce serious crashes.
“You may still have some of the damage crashes, and those will drop, but you won’t have as much of the serious injury and the fatalities drop significantly,” said David Gedeon, Vice President of Transportation at TMACOG.
Still hope to avoid roundabouts altogether on your drive? Check out the full list:
- King/Nebraska - 2009
- Brint/Mitchaw - 2010
- SR 18 Bypass/Main St - 2012
- Sylvania/Mitchaw - 2013
- Brint/King - 2014
- Dutch/Waterville-Monclova N - 2014
- Dutch/Waterville-Monclova S - 2014
- Sylvania-Metamora/Mitchaw - 2014
- Jeep Pkwy/Willys (Overland Park) - 2014
- Detroit/Berdan - 2014
- Finzel/SR64 - 2015
- Waterville-Monclova/Stitt - 2015
- King/Dorr - 2015
- McCord/Hall/Mall - 2015
- Cherry/Manhattan - 2015
- Dorr/Centennial – 2015
- Sylvania/Centennial - 2016
- Berdan/Haverhill - 2017
- Phillips/Manhattan - future
- Willys/I-75 W - future
- Willys/I-75 E - future
- Berdan/Jeep Pkwy - 2017
- Eber Rd/US 20A - future
- US20A/SR295
- US 20A/Whitehouse-Spencer
- Napoleon/Campbell Hill
- Angola Rd (near King)
- Five Point/Hull Prairie
- Roachton/Hull Prairie
- Salisbury/Albon
- Monclova Rd/Coder Rd
- Centennial Rd/Hill Ave
- Crissey Rd/Dorr St - North Leg
- Crissey Rd/Dorr St - South Leg
- Crissey Rd/Angola Rd (eastbound)
- Bancroft St/Crissey Rd
- Frankfort Rd/Crissey Rd
- Nebraska Ave/Centennial
- Brint Rd/Centennial Rd
- Albon Rd/Garden Rd
- Albon Rd/Monclova Rd
- Waterville-Monclova Rd/Monclova Rd
- North Curtice Rd/Cedar Point Rd
- North Curtice Rd/Corduroy Rd
- North Curtice Rd/Seaman Rd
