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The old, larger traffic circle averaged eight accidents per month, McKenna said. But since being reduced from 600 feet to 200 feet in diameter, the junction that brings together Washington Avenue, Col. Chandler Drive, the Thruway exit and state Route 28 has had fewer crashes: five in the first month after the Dec. 6, 2000, opening, and only two in the second month.
"We are well below the average," McKenna said.
Law-enforcement officials agree. Paul Watzka, the newly appointed police chief in the town of Ulster, said that since Jan. 1, his officers have handled only six accidents at the roundabout.
The new roundabout drew considerable criticism from drivers in the period immediately following its opening, but McKenna says the number of complaints has decreased as drivers have become more accustomed to the new setup.
"We still get 'rip it up and put the old one back' occasionally, but for the most part, we have gotten more positive responses, which we're happy about," McKenna said.
Many Freeman readers complained in letters to the editor and in postings on the newspaper's Internet site that the roundabout was confusing and dangerous. One man even gave it a nickname: "Malfunction Junction." But negative feedback has dissipated as initial problems - including a lack of lighting and insufficient signs - have been corrected.
And there still is more work to be done, McKenna said, including road striping and the removal of blacktop from the old circle. Both of those projects should be done by the end of May, weather permitting, she said.
Landscaping also will be done throughout the spring and summer.
Besides being smaller than the old circle, the new roundabout has a lower speed limit, and access roads have been created that allow drivers to avoid the roundabout altogether if traveling only from one spoke to the next.
