Do Vineyard voters really want a roundabout? Thanks to a grassroots effort, that question will appear on the ballot in all six Island towns this spring.

The results of what is effectively an Islandwide referendum on the controversial construction project slated for the blinker intersection in Oak Bluffs are nonbinding. So state and local officials will be free to move forward on the project regardless of whether the majority of citizens likes it or not.

Still, we hope the vote gets the attention it deserves. Public safety and convenience will change very little whether the roundabout is built or not. Far more important is the degree to which the issue has become a proxy for how people think about their Island. Do we really care about traffic control? Is this where we want to spend our money? That’s what we’ll look for in this vote.