To the editor:

Thank you for putting out some information about the traffic circle issue. I have driven a van for a local transportation company since summer last year, and I can attest to the fact that it is simply not possible for a minivan to make the loop around these circles without stopping, throwing it in reverse — meanwhile blocking both lanes — and then finally completing the loop. Could someone please explain to me how it is that this procedure makes an intersection any safer?

For the past year I have made repeated trips left at 17th and Indiana, every day, and not once had a problem. Fine, maybe blowing off the “loop” isn’t by-the-books, but there is really no good alternative. And I reiterate: Every day, I take a left at that intersection multiple times, and in my opinion doing the full loop does not add to the safety of the intersection, at least from the perspective of a minivan driver. So, whatever city planners do, all I can say is that enforcing the rules as far as doing a full loop is concerned is not a sensible solution.

Brian Clements,

Lawrence