Resident urges roundabout at busy North St. Paul intersection, citing near-misses and engineering advice

A resident identified in the record as Joseph told the North St. Paul City Council that a five-way junction at 7th, Third Street North and South Avenue is creating persistent safety hazards and urged the city to move quickly to install a roundabout.

Joseph spoke during the public-comment period and said he has observed vehicles running stop controls, near-misses involving motorcycles and people pushing baby carriages, and frequent brake squealing. “Somebody’s going to get hurt,” he said, adding that he had spoken with MnDOT traffic staff (named in his remarks as Lars and Paula) and Ramsey County engineer Brad Esten, who he said agreed the location is suited for a roundabout.

If adopted, the roundabout would replace the current “hexagon” stop control layout the speaker described as vulnerable to dim bulbs and winter outages. Joseph said the city’s comprehensive plan already contains two separate concepts for a roundabout at that intersection and warned that failing to act could expose the city to liability if a serious crash occurs.

The council did not take formal action on the request during the meeting. No staff motion or council direction to start design, engineering or funding work is recorded in the minutes; councilmembers did not announce a referral, study timeline or vote on the issue.

Why it matters: A five-way intersection concentrates conflict points for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians. The resident cited technical advice and past planning work to argue the issue is not new and urged the council to make it a priority to reduce crash risk and potential legal exposure.

What’s next: The speaker asked the council to “take a look at this and get a move on it.” The council did not respond with a commitment or schedule at this meeting; any follow-up — such as a referral to staff, a study directive or a funding request — would need to appear in a subsequent agenda or staff report.