Jefferson Ave 52 roundabout getting makeover

Jefferson Ave 52 roundabout getting makeover. The city of La Quinta says it’s making improvements to the outdated traffic circle because of complaints from drivers and traffic accidents.

“It can be a little chaotic especially for people who haven’t been through it before,” said La Quinta resident Joe Diodati.

The 15-year-old roundabout is supposed to help traffic run smoothly, but drivers tell a different story.

“The first time you go through it, ‘What the heck is this?’ You kind of go in the outside lane and the inside lane, but once you are in that inside lane, you could go around there and never come out,” said Diodati.

Right now there are two lanes leading into it from each direction, but the roundabout itself is only one lane. It’s a fact many people we talked to didn’t know.

“Look at it, it’s two lanes entering it. If it’s set up for one lane, then they haven’t done their job right because it’s wide enough for two lanes,” said Diodati.

“It doesn’t seem like that, it gets a little confusing,” said resident Jan Wier.

Our cameras caught several drivers treating it as two lanes.

“When two cars enter if the car closest to the center median wants to leave for the one on the outside and doesn’t realize that the driver is there, it can cause an accident,” said La Quinta Public Works Director Timothy Jonasson.

With the $400,000 redesign, the city of La Quinta hopes it will be more clear- only one car at a time.

The biggest change the re-striping project calls for is coming into the roundabout it will be one lane instead of two.

“It will eliminate that confusion for drivers and make it safer for drivers as they enter and exit the roundabout,” Jonasson.

But why keep it at all?

“I would actually like to have no roundabouts personally,” said Wier.

According to the city, even in its current condition, it’s safer.

“The number of serious accidents has been low in comparison to a signalized intersection or certainly if we had it as an all-way stop,” said Jonasson.

The new configuration is set to be complete in September. The goal is to only shut down portions of the intersection when possible to minimize detours.