Following an informational meeting by the Iowa Department of Transportation in August to inform the public of a new roundabout along Highway 169 near the new Adel-DeSoto-Minburn High School in Adel, Mayor Jim Peters outlines where he stands on the matter.

Peters tells Raccoon Valley Radio a new roundabout is currently being constructed on the south side of the city to help mitigate potential traffic incidents with the new high school. He explains that the DOT had a study that determined that collisions that happen in a roundabout aren’t as fatal compared to a traffic light, which is another avenue that the DOT had looked at.

Peters reveals back in 2017, council member Rob Christensen, who served as Chair of Adel’s Street Committee asked the DOT to look into installing a roundabout in the same corridor, but at that time, the DOT rejected the request because they didn’t believe that it was necessary. He believes that with the area becoming busier with the new high school, change was evident.

“I understand the DOT is putting more traffic circles in and around the state. If anybody’s been over to Waukee Northwest, it’s completely surrounded by traffic circles. And I know the City of Johnston has a number of traffic circles just within their city limits. So traffic circles or roundabouts are something that seems to be more prevalent now as a design feature in transportation.”

Peters details that the ADM School District had to follow the state code of ingress and egress, where any time a development is along a highway, the property owner has to pay for a study to determine the best solution for safety. He shares that the results of the study have to be submitted to the DOT for the final decision since they have jurisdiction on the state highway. 

Peters concludes that he’s in agreement with the DOT, as safety of students, administrators, and residents are his number one priority.