There are now five small traffic circles in Bethlehem that has opened in recent days. Four of them are part of the new Slingerlands Bypass extension, which attempts to move the heavy traffic over Route 85 much quicker then in the past.

I have driven on the bypass twice at light traffic times, both times after dark. They were quick and it was nice to have not to wait at traffic lights throughout this whole stretch of road. Psychologically, merging into traffic circles without traffic just seemed so much quicker and easier.

It seemed like an awful lot of circles for such a small section of road. You felt like you spent have your life driving around circles just to get a quarter mile. It was almost kind of trippy, feeling like you had entered into a foreign space. This was made worst by brightly lit traffic circles, after proceeding through portions of dark wooded area.

Future development should improve the street lighting in these places. Consistent lighting would make it easier on the eyes, and keep drivers from feeling like they have suddenly arrived in a heaven or other very bright place after being in complete darkness. The lighting issue is a serious one that should have gotten more thought by traffic planners, although having on the circles lit reduces the distraction of drivers. Street-level lighting might have been more appropriate.

One major safety feature was apparent to drivers. There was no left-turning traffic, turning out in front of you. I have been in many near accidents, particularly at the Blessing Road. Cars would not always wait until there was a safe distance or a green arrow to make that turn. Moreover, the timing of the light seemed to encourage red-light running. With the roundabouts, that danger has been eliminated – cars are going slower, and not racing to make a left-hand turn.

Only one lane of the roundabouts and two of the Slingerlands Bypass roads are currently open. It should be interesting how the additional lanes will affect safety, confusion, and capacity of these roundabouts and the bypass. If drivers follow the pavement markings, then it should provide quick and easy access for more capacity around the circles. But if drivers are confused by the extra layer of traffic, then it could lead to confusion and accidents.

The Slingerlands Bypass will be completed by July 2008 with all four lanes open. A subsequent project will extend the four lanes of the bypass until the city line, to ensure sufficient capacity and queuing. Once the construction is done, and time passes, we will be able to judge the project more completely. In addition, visiting this section in peak capacity would show how successful it is under these conditions.