Each time I drive in town and wait endless moments for the light to change, I seethe because of the waste of time and gas. Sometimes the waiting time is excruciating as we wait for those left and right turn indicators, a pedestrian light and a standard all purpose green light. A typical wait at the main crossroad in Amherst can be several minutes. God help you if you don’t manage to cross in the waning moments of a yellow light before that red light shuts you out for another few minutes.

I admit that these comments come on the heels of a trip to the U.K., Belgium and France where the use of rotaries is common. Rotaries exist on thousands of miles of roads and save lots of time, gas and frustration. They allow you to drive in a circle until you reach the desired road at which time you exit. They even allow you to reverse directions. As for pedestrians, they can cross at a red light timed to go off at appropriate intervals. If there’s little pedestrian traffic, those on foot can rely on crosswalks on streets emanating from the circle. Rotaries are not unknown in this country; there are several scattered throughout this immediate area.

There’s an excellent one in Vermont at the northern exit of Route 91 leading to Brattleboro. There’s also an important traffic circle at Bourne at the gateway to Cape Cod where one can view the traffic on the Internet thanks to a webcam posted at that spot. All the intersections in Amherst regulated by traffic lights, including those on the streets adjoining the UMass campus, could use one.

My first choice would be for the principal intersection of town- that of North Pleasant and Amity. The uneven positioning of the streets that make up this intersection would make it a perfect site for a rotary. We waste so much time and gas waiting for lights to change which is all the more agonizing since rotaries help maintain an even flow of uninterrupted traffic. The question of safety is all important, of course, and several national studies have shown that traffic circles can help reduce accidents since they force cars to slow down and drive more carefully. One major objection to rotaries is that Americans aren’t used to them though they could get used to them if they existed in greater numbers. The one main thing to understand about rotaries is that drivers must wait until there’s a break in the circle traffic before entering but once they are in the circle, they have the right of way and continue until they find their exit.

Apparently the town plans to build two traffic circles in South Amherst near the Atkins supermarket. That’s good news. I hope that this project gets underway soon and that if they are successful, the town will consider building others in this area. Rotaries make sense. They save on gas and on mindless waiting. With gas selling for around four dollars a gallon, they could help reduce fuel expenditures considerably. The reader interested in learning more about the good and bad aspects of rotaries is encouraged to review a number of reports on the Internet.