Editor, Times-Union:

I'm getting used to the roundabout now, but I approached it with some trepidation on the last Wednesday of 2022.

That Wednesday was predicted to be the last pleasant day of the year, and I just had to get out of the house and go somewhere on my bicycle, but it was nearly noon before I was ready to go, I'm a very slow rider, and I was soft from all the bad weather. To Kroger and back would have to do.

The unfinished roundabout is confusing enough in a car, so I planned to leave Winona Lake on the Heritage Trail.  There was a patch of snow on the ramp at the entrance to the trail. I felt that if I had to get off and wade through snow, I might as well do it closer to the roundabout. When I got to where I'd meant to enter the Trail, it was blocked by a flock of geese and I didn't want to frighten them, so I stayed in the street. The roundabout proved to be very easy: wait until it's my turn, stay in the middle of the lane until I'm on Winona Avenue, and I didn't have to cross Winona to get to McKinley.

This was the very first time I haven't been able to leave Winona Lake on the Heritage Trail since construction began.  No matter what else was going on, the Heritage Trail was open. Even when the Trail itself was torn up, they built an asphalt ramp and marked out a walking path on the street.

This took a lot of intelligent thought and hard work, and I wish I could thank the construction crew and the planners.

Joy Beeson

Winona Lake