By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Since Canterbury Drive between 13th and 27th Streets will be restriped later this year for three lanes instead of four, it may be an opportunity to install the first traffic roundabout in the city of Hays.

Mayor James Meier asked for the discussion at tonight’s city commission work session.

The “mini-roundabout” would be temporary, according to City Manager Toby Dougherty, depending on how well it works and how well it’s received by the driving public.

“We would just remove the four stop signs. There would be a movable obstruction placed in the middle of the intersection that would divert traffic around it. There would a little bit of signage going into the roundabout so people would know where to go,” Dougherty explained. He said there little paint would be needed.

Dougherty thinks the intersection would function better as a roundabout.

“It’s a four-way stop that carries periodic heavy traffic. Most of the time when you go through the intersection, you may or may not meet another car you have to wait on. But there are times when school’s getting out, when the hospital employees are getting off shift, or when you have a lot of eastbound traffic on 27th heading out of town, where you can get backups quite a distance, especially waiting on left hand turns.

“If you have the constantly moving vehicles in a roundabout, that traffic should clear out of there a lot quicker and create less of a backup.”

High Plains Baptist Church and its affiliated school sits on the northeast side of the intersection. The Hays Medical Center campus is a couple blocks south of the intersection on Canterbury.

Meier is a pharmacist who works at the hospital.

The complete March 1 city commission work session is available here.