The intersection of North Pleasant and Pine/Meadow streets (near the House of Teriyaki) cries out for a roundabout. The traffic lights are set up so that several consecutive, light-regulated turns are made in a situation that takes about five minutes or so — a frustrating waste of time and gas.
Not only are there east-west and north-south routes at this intersection, but there’s the additional Montague Road entry that enters the intersection at an angle. One often finds several cars arriving from Montague Road trying to position themselves into the intersection to head either east on Pine Street, south on North Pleasant or west on Meadow. Cars heading south at a long red light often must jockey for position to go left, right, or straight ahead. It strikes me as an unusually complicated and wasteful situation.
The installation of a roundabout would ease the situation greatly, especially for cars heading south. Instead of spending several minutes waiting for a red light, they could enter the circle when the situation permits, and select the appropriate road to continue.
As controversial as roundabouts have been in the past, I believe that those that have already been developed in Amherst and Northampton, have proven their value usefulness.
John P. Berwald
Amherst
