The Kennebec Commuter's old lady came to visit us about a month ago.

We were in the car one afternoon, about to enter Memorial Circle, when Ma -- who was driving -- pointed to the sign and said, "Rotary? Is that some kind of rotary club?"

Yes, Ma, we said. It's a club where members play Russian roulette with their vehicles, trying to get from one side of the traffic circle to the other.

Ma didn't find us to be very funny, especially after avoiding five near sideswipes while trying to cross from Western Avenue to the bridge.

The Kennebec Commuter receives more e-mails about those blasted roundabouts of death than anything else every week.

Folks just hate 'em.

You loyal readers probably remember last fall when we took a ride with driving instructor Glen Soucie of A-1 Driving.

Soucie straightened out how one is supposed to navigate rotaries: Drivers who plan to disembark on the first or second exits after entering should stay in the outer lane. When the driver leaves the rotary, they should exit in the right lane. Drivers planning to exit on the third exit or any past need to be in the inner lane. When they exit, they should do so in the left lane (Consider that our refresher course for today, kids).

We come bearing good news, though, and it is that the days of the reckless rotary will be behind us hopefully by summer's end.

You might have read in the Kennebec Journal this weekend the Maine Department of Transportation will give the east side rotary (which we like to call the evil twin of the two circles) a facelift by adding a third lane and installing more articulate signage, among other changes. This project was prompted by Hannaford's future move to the Cony Circle neighborhood.

The Kennebec Commuter balked at the idea when a colleague initially mentioned it to us. After all, the Cony Circle has the highest crash rate in the state of Maine, and the state wanted to add another lane to this madness? We had to get the scoop on this.

We sat down with Maine DOT engineer Steve Landry to get the gritty details on this very clever -- and what we believe will be very effective -- project.

The third lane, which will be added on Stone, Cony and Bangor streets, will act as a personal lane for those who just want get to the next exit, but a third lane will not be in the circle itself. Painted lines for different lanes will guide the driver on the lane they need to be in while in the circle and where they can disembark.

"We're seeing a combination of things when people drive in this rotary," Landry said.

"People are driving on the outside lane the entire way around the circle and people are just gunning it (into the rotary). Another problem is, people who want to get to Bangor Street have to turn their tires left, then immediately right, which throws off other drivers."

Landry said Maine DOT has solutions to these conundrums. Better signage will dictate what specific lanes are designated to what exits. Deflective methods, such as changing the angle one enters the rotary from, will force drivers to slow down and pay attention. Exiting will be more smooth.

The cut from Memorial Bridge to Stone Street, where many a driver has crashed into another driver, will empty out into its own lane on Stone Street, while those coming from the rotary will also have their lane to travel in.

"It should be interesting while everyone gets used to the changes, but we are anticipating there will be fewer crashes because of this," Landry said.

We love it.

Follow Meghan Malloy's commuter blog and track the cheapest gasoline prices in town daily at www.kjonline.com.