I moved to Bozeman in November of 2010, so the roundabout at the intersection of College and 11th was being talked about long before I got to town. Since arriving here in Bozeman, my experience with the roundabout was just a few people I knew complaining about the construction this last summer, but that was about it. So when I was asked to write this article, I knew I had to do some homework on the history of the project. And everybody loves homework, right?

Since the project was first approved in August of 2008, it seems like there had been a steady barrage of negative press. Looking back through some old editions of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle turned up piles of editorial letters bashing the project, citing concerns ranging from pedestrian safety, the potential for traffic problems, and concerns over the cost of the project. In the end, I was able to turn up one single letter to the editor that had a positive opinion about the project. One.

It didn’t seem like the people of Bozeman were too excited about the roundabout.

Finally, on August 23rd this last summer, the new intersection opened and all the construction stuff was out of the way, and the roundabout was finally put to use. I was excited to see the reaction of the Bozeman’s people after finally getting to drive around the thing.

I couldn’t find anything anywhere, in any publication, local or otherwise, mentioning the project. Nothing negative, nothing positive, so I decided to ask some of the people of Bozeman directly. I work in a local restaurant that enjoys some level of success (Right? A freelance writer working in a restaurant? Who would of thought of that?), so I get a little time to talk to a wide cross-section of people in Bozeman.

Everybody I talked to on the subject, about thirty different people from all different demographics, had just about the same thing to say. Seems like the people of the city weren’t too excited about the project in the first place, but after having a little time to get used to it and drive around it, everybody I talked to said they liked it, that it saved them time, and made their daily commute a little bit easier. More than half of the people I talked to said that now that they had seen a roundabout in action in a high traffic area, and had seen how it worked, they liked the idea of installing another roundabout at the intersection of College and Willson.

As I said in the beginning of this article, I just moved to Bozeman last November, from Roanoke, Virginia. I’ve spent a lot of time getting to know my neighbors and my neighborhood, and I’ve been fascinated by what I’ve seen in the people, the businesses, and the laws here, too. Bozeman, Montana is a progressive place, and I’m not using the word progressive with any implied political connotations here, I’m using it for the root word: Progress. Moving ahead. On to the next new thing.
The roundabout shows the character of this city, I think. It seems like the same ol, same ol status quo the people of Bozeman had been putting up with just wasn’t working anymore at that intersection, and so it was on to the next idea, even though some folks don’t understand or like it.

Then again, some people don’t understand or like progress.

But maybe one day they will, in a roundabout kind of way…

My First Experience in a Roundabout
When I was first asked to write this article, I’d never driven through a roundabout before, and rather than look up the rules of a roundabout and approach the thing safely, I figure I’d drive into it blind, like most of the drivers on the road.
Okay, not blind. Bad choice of words.

I figured I’d drive into the roundabout ignorant of the traffic pattern, and see how it turned out. I first approached the roundabout from the south side, coming up 11th street and I decided to exit out of the roundabout headed east on College. There were a few cars circling around the thing, so I yielded until the way was clear and pulled out into the primary lane of the roundabout. Swooping around it made me want to hit the gas a little, but I figured that might be a bad idea, since I still had no idea what I was doing. And before I could even get confused, there was my turn and I was on College, headed east, just like I intended.

The first thing I thought was – “That was easy.”

Which made me think that maybe I’d done it wrong, so I decided to turn back around approach the roundabout from the east side, on College, and heading back north on 11th.

Once again, I zipped right around to where I needed to go.

So it really is an easy traffic pattern to use, or I did it wrong twice.

Odds are good either way.

Things You Need to Know About a Roundabout

Look Left
• Your ma always told you to look both ways when crossing the street. She was right, but in a roundabout, maybe you oughtta look left a little extra.

Yield
• Like a stop sign you can roll through. You know, like the way most people roll through all the other stop signs in town.

Be Aware of Other Drivers
• Other drivers may not share your good taste for literature, and therefore may have not read an article as informative and entertaining as the one you’re reading right now, so they may not know how to use a roundabout. Give these people a break, they’ve already got it hard enough.

Slow Down
• I know you want to crank it up a notch when you’re zipping around the roundabout, but maybe you shouldn’t do that. After all, aren’t you glad the guy behind you didn’t decide to gas it a little?

Don’t Screw It Up
• If you miss your turn, just keep going. You’ll get back around to it, and it won’t take long either.

William Bishop is a freelance writer that’s relatively new to Bozeman, after moving here last November from a small town in Southern Virginia.  He has never been happier, and would like to say thanks to the people of Bozeman for being so kind.

Video courtesy Altilux/Steve White