Local Driver Claims Successful East Avenue Roundabout Navigation; City Investigates Claim

WAUKESHA — City officials are reviewing 47 minutes of dash camera footage to determine whether a Waukesha man successfully navigated the East Avenue roundabout on Saturday, after the driver, Graham Paulson, 52, told traffic investigators he was "95% confident I did it right."

Paulson entered the roundabout from the east at approximately 10:52 a.m. in a 2017 Ford F-150, bound for the Piggly Wiggly on East Avenue. He exited, by his own count, once. City Engineer Wanda Trebilcock said preliminary review of the footage suggests he exited on his third attempt, a discrepancy Paulson described as "a matter of how you define a lap."

The city has placed Paulson in "pending verification" status, a category created Monday morning and currently containing one person.

The Footage

Paulson's dash camera, which he activated at his home and did not deactivate until he reached the Piggly Wiggly parking lot, recorded 47 minutes and 12 seconds of video. Investigators said only 3 minutes and 40 seconds of it shows the roundabout. Another 8 minutes shows Paulson idling in the Piggly Wiggly lot before the maneuver, which he told investigators was "to get my head right."

The remainder consists mostly of Paulson driving to and from a Culver's, a stop he said was unrelated but that investigators have flagged as "relevant to the timeline."

"I'd like to be clear that I went in there confident," Paulson said. "You go around once, you're just getting the lay of the land. Second time, I had a good look at all four exits. By the third time I knew exactly what I was doing."

"I'm 95% confident I did it right. The other 5% is the first two times."

— Graham Paulson, Waukesha

Practice Loops

The central question before the review is whether Paulson's first two circuits count as attempts or as practice loops. Trebilcock said the city's informal standard requires a driver to navigate the roundabout "on the first attempt," but that the standard does not define an attempt, a loop, or the relationship between the two.

Investigators noted that on his second circuit, Paulson activated his right turn signal at roughly the 5 o'clock position, then canceled it. Trebilcock said the panel is divided on whether this shows intent to exit, and therefore an attempt, or a "fake-out," which is not currently covered by any city policy.

"If he signaled and then thought better of it, that's a decision," Trebilcock said. "We don't know yet whether it's a good decision or a bad decision, but it's a decision. We're going to watch it a few more times."

A passenger, Paulson's brother-in-law Rick Hendrickx, 49, said he could not verify the second circuit because he had his eyes closed. He described the third exit as "smooth, if you'd been on the first two."

Independent Review

The maneuver was also observed by Ned England, 70, of Backslide Way, who was stationed near the roundabout in a lawn chair for his YouTube channel "Nedventuresout" (420 subscribers). England clocked the F-150 on his radar gun at 11 mph, 9 mph and 13 mph on three consecutive passes.

"I have three clean entries and one clean exit," England said. "That's a ratio I'm not comfortable calling a success or a failure. I'm going to call it a ratio."

England said he would be posting his footage Thursday under the title "Roundabout Ratio: You Decide," and that he had not been contacted by the city, though he noted he was "available, and in a chair."

Key To The City

The city has said it will award a ceremonial key to the first driver confirmed to navigate the roundabout correctly on the first attempt. The claim of Margaret Steele, 67, of Delafield, who reported a successful pass last week, remains in a separate "unverified" file, which Trebilcock said is "not the same thing as pending."

Councilman Gary Puchalski said the Common Council may need to address the order in which claims are verified. "If Mr. Paulson is cleared first, does he get the key, or does Ms. Steele get it because she was earlier?" Puchalski said. "I don't have an answer. I do know the key is a six-inch piece of plywood and there is only one of it."

Trebilcock said a decision on Paulson's status is expected within two weeks, pending a third full viewing of the footage. Paulson said he plans to wait, and that if it goes badly he can be reached at the Culver's.