 |
Growing up in Cherokee County, it was a running joke that there was so little to do for amusement we would often go to the town square and watch the red light change.
Friends recently suggested an interesting night’s entertainment could be easily attained by going to the Murphy town square with a lawn chair and watching drivers attempt to negotiate the traffic circle. That pastime has the potential to be as exciting as Tri-County Raceway, and with just as many near-wrecks.
There is a bit of irony involved with the roundabout. Many of those complaining online about the roundabout are some of the same who say they prefer things remain the way they used to be. Ironic because until 1952, the Town of Murphy had – wait for it – a roundabout.
The center of the first roundabout was called the “Bull Moose Pen” (no one knows why), with the center an octagon-fenced patch of grass, highlighted first by a large evergreen in the center of the pen and later replaced by a marble fountain donated to the town by the Archibald D. Murphey Chapter of the Murphy Women’s Club in 1917. That fountain is in front of the Cherokee County Historical Museum today.
Murphey’s name was spelled correctly on the marble fountain, as the town’s current spelling “Murphy” is thanks to a clerk’s misspelling when recording the N.C. Legislature’s name designated for the town as “Murphy” instead of “Murphey.” It is interesting that since that mistake of over a century and a half, no one has ever attempted to correct the spelling. Archibald Murphy did not care as he had passed before the town was named and didn’t know of the honor.
The roundabout marks the center of Murphy, where its four main streets begin. From the center of town toward Peachtree community is Peachtree Street. From the roundabout toward Tennessee via Joe Brown Highway is Tennessee Street.
Hiwassee Street leaves the roundabout and goes toward the Hiwassee River and the L&N Depot. And the fourth street from the center of town is Valley River Avenue, toward the Murphy Methodist Church – and the Valley River.
Navigating around the old Bull Moose Pen required the same techniques as the new roundabout.
I have observed more than a few local drivers are inexperienced in driving around a roundabout. Here are some tips:
Read. Yield means you wait for the other car to go by. You yield to the guy already in the circle, not the other way around. Yield means you do not go.
It is a little like Nascar. In Nascar, one drives fast and turns left a lot. In a roundabout, you go slower but do the same, counterclockwise once you are in the circle. When approaching the roundabout, if no one is close in the circle, you make a right turn to enter the traffic pattern and join the counterclockwise (left) rotation.
Knowing left from right is important in a roundabout.
One enters and exits the traffic circle with a right turn. No exceptions. If you are approaching on Valley River Avenue and want to go left on Peachtree Street, you do NOT turn left through the circle. That is risking a head-on collision in addition to being a traffic violation and a stupid move. Instead, you turn right, continuing past the Tennessee Street exit, past the Hiwassee Street exit, and exit RIGHT on to Peachtree Street.
Traffic circles are becoming more common and generally liked once everyone learns how to drive through one. No electricity is required, less maintenance, and more important, if you are returning home at 2 a.m. and you come to an intersection you do not have to stop for a red light with no one in sight.
In 1952 the reason for erecting the red light was cited by state engineers as for “safety.” The red light was deemed safer than the roundabout. The single red light was replaced by lights for each lane, some with left turn signals, in the 1970s.
As a 16 year old awaiting my driving test, my mother rode with me 22 miles from Hiwassee Dam to practice turning left at our town’s single red light. There was no left turn signal, and it was not clear to me why I was required to wait until all cars passed to make the left turn. My mother deemed I need practice.
In 2025, the red lights are removed and a roundabout goes its place – again, according to state engineers, for “safety.” Only a state agency could rationalize having it both ways.
A feasibility study in considering the roundabout stated there were 61 accidents at that intersection from 2013-18, all “low-speed” and no fatalities. Still, the number was higher than the state average.
There is still the question of crossing the street. With the red lights, it was possible to wait on the traffic to be stopped to safely cross the street. I understand that crosswalks are anticipated to resolve this conflict – but considering the traffic that ignores the 20 mph downtown speed limit, and those who cannot negotiate a traffic circle, I do not put a lot of stock in drivers stopping for a crosswalk. Perhaps we need red lights – at the crosswalks?
The key to surviving driving through the Murphy roundabout is have some courtesy for the other driver, give them a chance. You are not in New York. Blowing a car horn will not help. With observing someone entering a crosswalk that does not mean speed up and try to get past them before they are in your lane.
I have the feeling that those who most need to be reading how to go through a roundabout – will continue careening through.
If you do bravely dare the reckless trip through the traffic circle on a Saturday night and notice people in lawn chairs watching the cars go through, be sure to wave. I’ll wave back.
Bruce Voyles’ local history column runs every other week in the Cherokee Scout. Email him at RoadsLessTraveled@cherokeescout.com.