Arrows confuse drivers at Bonita Springs roundabout

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. “Sheer madness” and “daily chaos.”

That’s how driver Cari Jones describes a roundabout at Old 41 Road and Terry Street, where arrows on Old 41 appear to point in the wrong direction.

“It’s scary how consistent the confusion is at this intersection,” she said.

Traffic is supposed to flow to the right into the roundabout from both lanes on Old 41. But the arrow in the left lane points left.

The signing is “strange,” Fort Myers-based traffic safety expert Jay Anderson said. The design takes some getting used to, but its exactly how it’s supposed to be, according to Cella Molnar & Associates Inc., the project manager in charge of the roundabout’s construction.

Jones insists it’s dangerous. She recently witnessed one car clip another during a last-second lane change, she said.

“I can’t believe that this is the right way to label an intersection like this, Jones said. “This morning, seeing kids trying to cross through here on foot and having distracted drivers not know what to do, I think that’s going to be a big problem.”

It’s the only roundabout in Southwest Florida with the left arrow, Cella Molnar spokesperson Kris Cella said.