A ban on roundabouts and traffic circles in the small Sonoma County city of Cotati appears to be repealed as Measure S in Tuesday’s election after being approved a dozen years ago, according to the unofficial results released by the county.
Measure S, which had more than 60% of the vote according to the initial results released Tuesday night, sought to undo a ban approved by Cotati voters in 2012 as Measure U, which passed with 57% of the vote despite the opposition of the city’s police chief and others who argued that roundabouts reduce accidents compared to traditional intersections.
A ballot argument against Measure S written by paralegal Laurie Alderman said the roundabout ban was “a creative way to slow down” a downtown improvement plan that proposed some roundabouts among other changes to the city back then.
“This repeal of the ban on roundabouts is politically motivated to teach us citizens who is in charge once and for all and who makes the decisions in our city, no matter what the will of the citizens is,” Alderman said.
The ballot argument submitted in support of Measure S was written by Mayor Laura Sparks, Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition executive director Eris Weaver and Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District Chief Jeff Veliquette and noted that Cotati was the only city in Sonoma County that has banned roundabouts.
