Johnsburg round-about - good idea?

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
July 6, 2010

The proposed round-about in Johnsburg is getting some attention now. Is it a good idea?

When was the last time you were through the intersection of Johnsburg Road and Chapel Hill Road? At any time? Like, maybe, at "rush hour"? There is a four-way stop there, and it's complicated a little by the fact that Chapel Hill Road is not directly across the intersection from St. Johns Avenue. Plus the fact that Chapel Hill Road arrives at the intersection on an angle.

The People of Johnsburg should be the ones deciding whether they want a round-about there. It would require a major reconstruction of the intersection, and nobody really knows whether traffic flow would improve.

A Timid Tilly wrecks traffic flow in a round-about. So does what my dad used to call a Polite Herman. Courtesy helps, but that's in short supply in McHenry County.

Every day you see intersections in gridlock, because drivers enter the intersection and cannot clear it. Drivers pull forward to prevent a motorist from entering from a side street. And motorists from side streets abuse drivers on through streets who have stopped before blocking the intersection.

Somebody, somewhere, has probably created a computerized simulation of traffic flow at a round-about. That might help Johnsburgers make a decision. Such a simulation might allow for changes in traffic volume and also different levels of aggression/assertiveness by drivers trying to enter the round-about.

The County Highway Department ought to locate such a simulation and post it on the County's website (and post it where it can be found). Give the link to the media, too.