The city invited owners of businesses in the area of the roundabout and City Council members to get a preview of the roundabout, even while contractors continued working on new concrete sidewalks and landscaping.
Mayor Dean Maxwell said the roundabout will be a "beautiful new entrance to our community," which he said will reduce delays by 20% and reduce accidents by 75%. Those figures, he told us, come from a studies of other roundabouts around the country.
Maxwell acknowledged that the 30 days the roundabout was closed has hurt businesses south of 32nd St., where a detour diverted traffic off Commercial Ave. There was an informal ribbon-cutting, then everyone had a chance to walk the roundabout.
The area in the center of the roundabout has yet to be finished. City engineer Eric Shjarback said landscaping will be added, along with a work of art to be selected by the Arts Commission, which has commissioned several art works for the length of Commercial Ave.
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