BLUE ASH, Ohio — The intersection of Plainfield and Hunt Road in Blue Ash was once on the list of the most dangerous intersections in the state, according to police. Now, the stop light has been replaced with a roundabout — something some drivers are still a little confused about navigating.
"One day I did see someone going the wrong way," said Liz Wilson, an employee at the nearby Shell station.
The gas station is right at the intersection, so its employees have a front-row seat to some of the mistakes. Before the roundabout was built, they had a front-row seat to any problems at the stop light.
“You had to wait at the light for several rounds ... sometimes 5-10 minutes,” Wilson said.
Plus, there were crashes. Blue Ash Police Capt. Roger Pohlman said these were mostly cars getting rear-ended or sometimes T-boned.
“Those are a lot higher speeds in that area and then those would result in injuries sometimes,” he said.
Now, there are fewer crashes and with cars traveling at a lower speed, Pohlman said they've been minor and without injuries.
But still, some don't like the change.
“I absolutely hate this roundabout,” Carolyn Allgeyer said. “I used to shop over there in that shopping plaza quite a bit, I don’t go there as often."
Some agree with Allgeyer, while others said they think the roundabout is an improvement.
"I spent a lot of my life sitting at that traffic light," Blue Ash council member Jeff Capell said. "With the roundabout, I'd say my average wait time is maybe ten seconds now."
One thing many seem to be in agreement about is that the roundabout comes with a learning curve.
"They don't know what they're doing, I'm not sure I know what I'm doing," Allgeyer said.
Pohlman has a few reminders.
"People want to stop when they approach a roundabout, even if there's no cars coming and that could lead to someone possibly rear-ending you," he said.
He also said to avoid changing lanes once you enter the roundabout.
The Blue Ash Police Department shared this Ohio Department of Transportation roundabout tutorial on Facebook.
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