Posted on 07/01/2011 9:59:00 AM PDT by the scotsman
Yup. Amherst. Pretty little town.
I think the circles work best where there’s a modest but fairly constant traffic flow in both directions. Then there’s a rhythm to them that makes sense. There’s a town near here with one on each side of a freeway overpass, but it’s not a heavily traveled freeway, and there’s a Wal-Mart on one side and a retail strip on the other, and the circles move things along fine.
It’s a safe bet that the Los Alamitos Traffic Circle in Long Beach, Calif. is a boon to body shops. Every time I drive through it, I almost have an accident.
We have two traffic circles here, put in about 15 or so years ago. The city said it was cheaper than a computerized traffic light system at those intersections.................
Having grown up in Africa and lived in the UK haven’t got a problem with roundabouts, but as with all things... really depends on the drivers knowing how to use them properly.
They make sense in the UK given that not many places have orderly grid planned roads, so you may have more than just two roads meeting and a roundabout is the only way to go, most Norht American cities follow a grid system so roundabouts may not be necessary everywhere.
Love roundabouts...Lived in England for three months, and after getting used to them, it was great for not having to stop or get stuck behind red lights. But as mentioned, there are not good for every place. High traffic, multi lane intersections may not be good. I see these working better for simple road intersections in the suburbs. Saves on the cost/maintenance of a traffic light, plus it looks better. Not everything European is bad...
I was thinking Martinsville, matter of fact, but Bristol works, too.
Might be cheaper for the city/county. I doubt it’s cheaper for the auto insurers, though. ;-)
I don’t have a big problem with traffic circles myself, but today’s distracted airhead behind the wheel has enough trouble just getting the vehicle down a straight stretch of road without putting a stumbling block in the form of a traffic circle in front of them.
That, and a complete lack of engineering knowledge that even I understand (and I'm not an engineer). In my town (Rio Rancho, NM), they have installed roundabouts. They're too small for any vehicle pulling a trailer, and too small to navigate safely (no reaction time for the idiot entering without yeilding, while thinking you're the one who's supposed to stop for him).
No semi traffic...UPS truck nearly turned over on one of the first days they were opened to through traffic.
Good news is that the new faux brick sidewalks and the street lights are pretty. Bad news is that merchants that suffered through the construction now have very limited customer parking.
Income from traffic tickets WAY UP...
Isn't progress great?????
Our town just put one in and got an award - like you say it had pedestrian and cycle lanes for sustainability.
Town recognized for new roundabout
The Northern/Hardy Roundabout in Oro Valley was selected as the Outstanding Small Project of the Year by Arizona's chapter of the American Public Works Association.
The five-way roundabout traffic circle at West Hardy Road and North Northern Avenue was completed in the summer of 2010 for about $800,000.
The project will be recognized at an award banquet March 30.
PS - a lot of locals are confused by it and stop before entering...:^)
Sometimes roundabouts are the only solution to what would otherwise be a hopelessly snarled situation and, like you having driven in Britain, I personally prefer them to the stop and go of traffic lights and stop signs. But you are very much correct about the disconnect between dealing with them and the typical American driver's skill level. A large percentage of Americans drive like they are half asleep, a side effect IMHO of the inventions of Prozac, cell phones, and the automatic transmission.
The problem I have found in St. Louis area is that the roundabouts are too narrow and usually only one lane, so they don’t work like the ones I encountered in UK.
There are only two that I know of within 50 miles of my house, both on the same stretch of road and both about a year old.
I have occasion to drive them about once a month or so. I have to say, it is nice to roll up and proceed through the intersection without waiting a long time for traffic to clear, even when the roads are busy.
I can see where a brain dead driver could make a mess of it, though. I guess in Britain, where they are common and people learn to drive them, it’s different, but I envision Britni pulling up in her 3-Series with the top down, Iphone in hand, chomping her bubble gum, radio going full blast, having no idea how to navigate this bizarre new traffic pattern, and taking out four vehicles in the process.
They are a blooming scourge on our streets; and should be bulldozed out of existence.
And the people who designed them should be executed.
That’s my opinion.
We called them traffic circles in NJ when I was a kid...don’t know if they’re still in use or not but I always thought they were a pain in the butt.
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