At Monday’s Duluth City Council Meeting, residents spoke out about their unease concerning a proposed roundabout at 40th Avenue East and London Road.

Some of the most outspoken participants were residents of Ecumen Lakeshore, stating that 40th Avenue East is not a traditional intersection due to the southbound lane being the only entrance and exit for their complex of senior apartments, assisted living apartments, memory care, respite care and physical therapy housing.

According Janet Mroz, a resident of the Independent Living apartments, if it were not for the red light on London Road, she and her husband would never get out of the parking lot during rush hour due to the bumper to bumper backups.

“There isn’t enough space between the cars on London Road for us to get out so that we could be trapped in there and not be able to get to our doctor’s appointments for shopping or for anything else”, says Mroz.

District five city council candidate Ginka Tarnowski spoke up at the City Council meeting, stating, “tearing down good housing in Duluth does two things. One, it increases the housing shortage and increases rent throughout Duluth, and two, the destruction of property tax base increases the property tax that remaining property owners pay.”

Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) officials also spoke, stating, “We understand there are concerns from residents at 40th Ave. E and London Rd. regarding the roundabout… a main goal of this is to help with the flow of traffic and increase safety.”

After hearing from everyone, the council unanimously approved the roundabout proposal.

In August, MnDOT had announced that a proposed roundabout at 60th Avenue East and London Road had been dropped.