VALPARAISO | Fourteen months after the roundabout first opened to vehicles, another traffic problem has developed.

City Engineering Director Tim Burkman told the Traffic and Safety Committee on Tuesday he received a complaint from a property owner on the east side of Sturdy Road south of the roundabout that vehicles are using his driveway to complete a U-turn.

Burkman said drivers using eastbound LaPorte Avenue west of the roundabout apparently discover after merging onto southbound Sturdy Road that they can't continue east on LaPorte. So, they do an illegal U-turn to get back onto LaPorte.

The complainant asked that a "No U-turn" sign be erected. The committee's Police Department representative, Sgt. Mike DeHaven, said drivers could be ticketed for crossing the double yellow center line but agreed more needs to be done.

"We haven't had a problem that I'm aware of, but it is a safety concern," DeHaven said. "It's an accident waiting to happen."

After the committee agreed to put up the sign, the next problem was figuring out where to put it. The roundabout median was too close to the merge point with LaPorte and Sturdy, and a sign placed there wouldn't be visible. Public Works Director Bill Oeding said the median to the south doesn't have room for a sign that wouldn't be constantly damaged by passing vehicles.

Placing one beside the road in front of Valparaiso University was a problem because Sturdy is four lanes wide. Council President Al Eisenmenger suggested a sign on each side of the road to make it more visible. In the end, the committee decided to put just one sign on the east side of the road to see if that works. DeHaven said that would be enough for police to enforce the U-turn ban.