Roundabouts save gas, help air quality

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By David Heitz | Sunday, May 25, 2008 5:46 PM CDT | () comments

Q: Concerning the roundabout at the end of 53rd Avenue at Middle Road in Bettendorf, have there been any accidents, does it save gas, and is there the possibility of building more of these?

— Ken, Davenport

A: Wally Mook, public works director for the city, said there have been “a couple of minor fender benders” that occurred when the roundabout opened in 2001. They were due to a failure of motorists to yield to traffic in the circle, he added.

“The roundabout saves gas and improves air quality because traffic is moving constantly at a slow speed, unlike a signalized intersection where someone has to stop all the time,” Mook said. “Roundabouts move traffic 50 percent faster than any other intersection.”

Mook said there is a roundabout planned for the intersection of Middle Road and Indiana Avenue in the future as development occurs in that area. “The Federal Highway Administration is actively encouraging the use of roundabouts nationwide for a variety of reasons.”

Q: I received an e-mail recently which concerns me. It said that someone has been calling people on the phone and asking them to dial 9-0-# to test their phone line. They claim to be from the phone company. I’m told that once you do this they can gain access to your line and make long-distance calls which you will have to pay for! Is there any truth to this?

— Shirley, DeWitt, Iowa

A: Shirley, I tend to scoff at folks who fall for these Internet rumors, but this one, in fact, contains a grain of truth.

First, I checked Snopes.com, a Web site that helps e-mail users separate fact from fiction when it comes to urban legends. Snopes declared that 9-0-# can, in fact, make a phone system vulnerable, but only on very old systems known as private branch exchanges, or PBXs. Such systems are best known for requiring callers to dial a 9 to get out.

However, only businesses can be affected by this — not residential lines or cellular telephones. I found out more about this scam on the AT&T Web site. The company advises that AT&T (or most phone companies, for that matter) never would call customers and ask them to help check phone lines. The best prevention against this type of fraud is for business managers to make sure their office staffs are aware of it and to review what to do if it happens.

Q: On the bike path between Division Street and Hillandale Road in Davenport, there are a tremendous amount of trees down. Could the city contract with someone to come in and use the downed trees for firewood? It would be really nice if that could be cleaned up. It really looks bad.

— Steve, Davenport

A: City Arborist Keith Majors said the Parks and Recreation Department has designated several areas along the Duck Creek Parkway as “natural areas,” or areas that receive minimum ground maintenance. The narrow strip of land adjacent to the bike path is mowed, he said, and if trees pose a threat to the traffic lane of the path they are removed. “Beyond that these designated areas are left as natural habitat. Fallen trees are part of a natural environment.”

And for anyone who has the urge to get a saw out, people are prohibited from removing wood from city property.