Editorial: Roundabouts at 5 Points, Third St. considered by city

Belleville City Manager Jason Smith delivered a report on the SEMCOG Road Safety Audit that talked about pedestrian and vehicle safety in the city between Five Points and High Street.
The recommendations were written by SEMCOG people who stayed most of a day in Belleville to look things over. Guess what? A round-about at Five Points was suggested, along with a mini traffic circle at Main and Third streets. This is all to make traffic safer and reduced in speed.
Smith said the grant SEMCOG used to do the audit only allowed them to do the study from Five Points to High Street and didn’t cover the troublesome intersection at Main and N. Liberty. Also, the grant didn’t cover them giving the report themselves, so that’s why Smith gave the report.
Five Points is complicated and confusing and a single-lane roundabout with a bit of a dogbone is suggested. Mayor Voigt, who likes roundabouts, said that maybe some of the property owned by the city could be used to make it happen so other property at the intersection wouldn’t be impacted.
The mini traffic circle at Third was suggested because A&P no longer brings the traffic on Third that the light used to control and it could be eliminated.
There are no roundabouts in Wayne County and some city officials would like Belleville to be the first to have one.