SALT LAKE CITY — Capitol Hill has a new look with a new traffic pattern that has left residents of the Salt Lake City neighborhood at the top of State Street with plenty of kudos and questions.
“I like it simply because I think it will help with the flow of traffic," said resident Mike McCormack.
The longtime resident believes the roundabout is a good thing for the neighborhood, but he does have some questions.
“It occurred to me that there's, from this side of the capitol, there's no wheelchair access," he shared. "And I thought, if you're making this kind of investment in doing this work, why you wouldn't put that in?”
The Utah Department of Transportation built the roundabout to improve safety as the old traffic pattern caused some confusion for drivers and offered just one pedestrian crosswalk.
“It worked great for people that understood how the stop signs work, but it's not intuitive, like when you're heading up State Street to a t-intersection and you don't see a stop sign unless you know you have the right of way, people are going to stop," McCormack said. "So I always thought it was confusing for people that didn't know.”
Many drivers recall how the old traffic was counterintuitive as those heading north up State Street didn’t have to stop but other drivers going east and west did.
“Seemed like cars were flying all over the place, like crazy people," said resident Evan Diaz. "and this seems like the flow of traffic is a little bit more easier and a little bit more natural."
Diaz thinks it also made sense for Utah to push back the State of Utah sign so people have plenty of space and no longer need to take photos in the middle of an intersection.
“Still looks beautiful right here," Diaz said of the sign. "And, you know, if it gives a little bit more space for the roundabout and everything, I think it's great.
"Looks good.”
