RC Letters

Roundabout is easy as a circle

Editor:

The opposition to the roundabout continues to amaze me.

If I were to just go by the tone of some of the complaints, I would think the town was trying to erect a statue of Osama Bin Laden, not installing a safe traffic device. After using the roundabout, coming from the Ranchos, driving to Carson City, visiting the library and stopping at the swim center, I am very pleased with its effect.

Leaving the library going south, or the swim center going north, used to be a tense nightmare, now it is as easy as driving in a circle. What it seems to do is make every driver, no matter where they are coming from or where they are going, equal, and most important, safe.

With regards to the location of the East Fork Fire Station, I would trust these people to save my house or my life, so I don't worry about the way they drive. Entering the roundabout, the visibility is perfect in every direction. Like Douglas County itself, I find the roundabout a little different, a little progressive, a little slower paced, and a lot safer. To the people who complain so vehemently, if your jobs and their results were to be put into such an open forum, would your results be perfect in everyone's eyes? Slow down in the roundabout and in your criticism.

I would much rather hear about a little traffic backup than a horrific high speed accident. Thanks, NDOT.

Stephen Snyder

Gardnerville

View not clear

at roundabout

Editor:

This is in support of the letter "Roundabout still not tested."

I don't use the roundabout in Minden on a regular basis, but do use the one in Carson City daily and am familiar with proper roundabout use. Recently, I was pulling out of the business building on the corner of County Road across the highway from the swim center.

When I started to pull out onto County Road to take the roundabout north there was no traffic in the roundabout, nothing coming from County Road and no vehicles could be seen entering the roundabout from any direction.

I started to pull out only to be staring at the nose of a car who had been traveling northbound on 88. It took the right onto County Road and almost became one with my car. The northbound car, like me, saw no one in the roundabout or coming to it therefore made the turn without the need to yield to traffic in the roundabout.

This situation is an accident waiting to happen as that business center has a lot of daily traffic coming in and out. Northbound traffic turning onto County Road cannot see if anyone is coming in or out due to parked cars and trees. Exiting and entering traffic can not see cars coming from the highway either until they are in or at the roundabout. This is the only entrance/exit available. It is very easy to fall into the trap of focusing on only the traffic in the roundabout and forgetting about traffic entering the side roads approaching the roundabout. If turning traffic does not slow before making that turn it will be just a matter of time before we see our first roundabout accident on County Road.

Shannon Silva

Minden

Remembering the old cattle drive

Editor:

What a nice article about the Park Family in Wednesday's paper. It was very interesting to me because when I married Curtis Gansberg, he was working for the Park Livestock Company in Antelope Valley.

Brooks was his boss and I inherited the job of cook for the ranch hands. I also soon learned to ride a horse and to help work cattle. Can you imagine driving a lot of cattle four days to get to Edgewood at Lake Tahoe? The first day was from the ranch in Antelope Valley to the Double Spring Flat, second day was to Park home ranch in Carson Valley, third day was to some place on the west side of Carson Valley. I don't remember just where, and then the fourth day was up the old Kingsbury Grade to Edgewood at Lake Tahoe.

There was also quite an experience for our two sons, Fred and LeRoy. Brooks was so good to us. He and Curtis were almost like brothers. We were at Park Cattle Company for several years. I live here not to far from Dave and Kathy in Antelope Valley.

Pat Gansberg

Coleville