East Avenue Roundabout Successfully Navigated For First Time; City Mystified

WAUKESHA — City traffic engineers are investigating how a Delafield woman successfully navigated the East Avenue roundabout last Tuesday afternoon without a GPS correction, a U-turn, or a second lap, an outcome the city's own records do not contemplate.

Margaret Steele, 67, entered the roundabout from the east at approximately 2:14 p.m. in a gray 2016 Buick Encore, took the second exit, and continued toward the Piggly Wiggly on East Avenue. Her dash-mounted GPS did not say "recalculating" at any point, according to Steele, who confirmed the device "usually has notes."

City Engineer Wanda Trebilcock said her office learned of the maneuver Wednesday morning from a Piggly Wiggly bagger who witnessed it from the cart corral. "We had to ask him twice if she yielded," Trebilcock said. "Then we asked him what a yield looks like. He was right on both."

The Method

Steele credits her success to what she described as "not looking at the intersection and just hoping for the best." She said she kept her eyes on the Piggly Wiggly sign, held the wheel at 10 and 2, and treated the approach signage as "background."

"I didn't read anything," Steele said. "I think that's the whole trick. Every time I read something I end up in Pewaukee."

"I got lucky once. That's enough."

— Margaret Steele, Delafield

Asked whether she would repeat the maneuver, Steele declined. She has since reached the same Piggly Wiggly by way of Moreland Boulevard, a detour of 11 minutes, and said she does not expect to be back. "I got lucky once. That's enough," she said.

Independent Review

The run was partially documented by Ned England, 70, of Backslide Way, who was stationed at the roundabout in a lawn chair for his YouTube channel "Nedventuresout" (420 subscribers). England said he captured the Buick's entry on his radar gun at 14 mph but was reloading a thermos at the moment of exit, and so cannot certify the second half.

"I logged a clean entry," England said. "What happens after that I would describe as unverified, which is how I'll describe it in the video. I'm not going to hand anyone a key to the city off half a maneuver."

Retired DPW supervisor Bob Krueger, 72, reviewed the reported approach and rated it 4 out of 10 as a technique and 9 out of 10 as an outcome. "You can't teach eyes-forward-and-pray," Krueger said. "But you also can't stop it from working, apparently."

Key To The City

The result has renewed questions about the city's informal offer of a key to the city to the first driver confirmed to navigate the roundabout correctly on the first attempt. Steele said Tuesday was her sixth pass through the roundabout since February, which Trebilcock said "complicates the language." Councilman Gary Puchalski said the Common Council would need to clarify whether "first attempt" refers to the driver, the day, or the roundabout.

In the meantime, the city is considering adopting Steele's approach as the official recommended method and posting signs accordingly. A draft sign reviewed by this newspaper reads "APPROACH WITHOUT LOOKING," followed by a smaller line reading "(See Also: Piggly Wiggly)." The signage committee has requested a second opinion on the parenthetical.

Steele said she has not been contacted about the key, and would prefer a gift card.