quote:

Originally posted by sreding:
The trend here in smaller communities in MN seems to be replacing low traffic 2 or 4 way stops with round abouts - in the SAME FOOT PRINT as a traditional intersection... so now you have at best a 4 way yield that can only fit one car in it at a time. Absolute garbage.

MN is ate up with these damnable things. They are a 4 way chicane not a traffic circle, idiots.

quote:

Originally posted by kx90:
The problem with roundabouts is they rely on YIELD signs which most people already don't know how to handle so they just treat them light STOP signs.

Around here there are too many people who think “yield” means “Breed your cars!”

quote:

Originally posted by kx90:
...they just treat them light STOP signs.

No because they treat stop signs like Yield signs.


I would say more than half the people on the road don't know how stop signs work.
98% know they're supposed to stop.
Maybe 80-85% do stop.
But only about 30% seem to understand the when they're supposed to go part, after they stop. Going because you want to go isn't how it's supposed to work. And stopping because the car ahead of you stopped, and going when he goes doesn't count as a stop.

They have FIVE of them now where my parents live in Franklin NC. It’s a town of 5 square miles and a population of under 5000…

The first one was installed in front of the WalMart. There’s a wreck once a week…since they installed it.

Then they started adding more.

It’s a complete fuckup.

They are too small.

When I was in Italy, they have them, but there’s like three or four lanes in the circle and there’s no problems, as people just keep circling until they get an opening to get out.

There’s one in Tampa near where my older brother lives at Country Club and N. Boulevard. It’s been there for 20+ years and it used to be a four way stop. Even after 20 years there’s wrecks there because it’s too small.

Complete madness. Every traffic circle should be torn down and the engineers should have to direct traffic there.

They must be a fad in civil engineering school. Everything new road-wise near me built in roughly the past 10 years seems determined to squeeze in as many roundabouts as possible.

Every new highway off ramp ends, if there's room for one, in a roundabout. Sometimes if there isn't room for one. Sometimes they've put in roundabouts where there aren't ROADS yet.

Right next to where I live there's a local kind of arterial road that crosses over a highway on an overpass. They recently added an exit for that highway at that road. With, of course, roundabouts. There's one immediately on each side of the overpass. You enter the highway from a roundabout, and when you exit the highway.... it dumps you into a roundabout. They're kind of too small and too close together and it makes just driving on that road suck, but the easy highway access is awfully convenient.

But the really dumb part is, along with that construction they put in a THIRD roundabout a few yards from one of the new twin ones. It's designed differently from the other two. Seriously, it works differently. You do what took you straight through the other two, on this one you'll do a 180. Or a 360. Or a 540. Because the only ways in or out of the roundabout are the road you're on. They put a roundabout on a straight road. It's not an intersection at all there's no other road there.

There is some construction activity on one side of the roundabout, so there will be something eventually but it's senior apartments. They built a roundabout for a *driveway*. That might be used someday but it's not like all the old people are going to want to go hot rodding.

GregY:

There’s one not far from me that will dump you into a Dunkin Donuts if you aren’t paying attention!

quote:

Originally posted by GregY:
But the really dumb part is, along with that construction they put in a THIRD roundabout a few yards from one of the new twin ones. It's designed differently from the other two. Seriously, it works differently. You do what took you straight through the other two, on this one you'll do a 180. Or a 360. Or a 540. Because the only ways in or out of the roundabout are the road you're on. They put a roundabout on a straight road. It's not an intersection at all there's no other road there.

The proper term is 'Skidpad'...Not to worry, the local yutes with modded RWD/AWD tuner cars will discover a use for this road feature / test track shortly, and will be practicing their 'drifting' skills / competing there soon enough! Some kids just like to Sit and Spin...

quote:

Originally posted by kx90:
The problem with roundabouts is they rely on YIELD signs which most people already don't know how to handle so they just treat them light STOP signs.

First time I hit one, rolled the winder down and stuck my head out and yiel'd and yiel'd, nobody heard me, darn near got in a wreck, probably these new fangled cars with all them loud music boxs a boomin....

Personally I like them, it's really just because I don't like long lines of traffic though. I can understand the other side that does enjoy their long lines of traffic. To each their own I guess is what the saying is? For me, a faster commute is more important that travel in a straight line.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
Personally I like them, it's really just because I don't like long lines of traffic though. I can understand the other side that does enjoy their long lines of traffic. To each their own I guess is what the saying is? For me, a faster commute is more important that travel in a straight line.

I like them too. Wish there were more in the area.

They just put in a roundabout (I still refer to them as a "rotary") down the street from me. At least half the time I walk past it, someone is beeping at someone else for either stopping when they shouldn't or not stopping when they should.

I'm in PA and have no problem with roundabouts.

They are safer than standard intersections and I have one in my own town.

They keep dummies from running red lights and stop signs and killing or maiming people.

What wreck does happen are lower speed, glancing wrecks, rather than full speed angled (T-bone) ones.

They certainly work.


But all that said, “It’s a damn yield sign, not a stop sign you damned idiot”! is my usual line upon approach.

 
DC has some interesting roundabouts, with lanes separated by concrete medians, some with through lanes, and signals.

I learned to drive and got my license after I went off to college, to a state that was an early enthusiast for the things (there they call them a rotary, or just a circle). At one point I lived next to one - Powderhouse circle. (Which is named for a historical structure of great significance that is still there but locals ignore)

They have advantages... they're a very efficient way to join roads for low to medium traffic flow. For intersections where several roads all come together at once (which may not be the best idea but sometimes roads aren't planned, and at some points trendy urban planning of the day did it thay way on purpose) they IMO are the most viable solution.

But they're not a silver bullet, not a one size fits all solution. When civil engineers treat them like they are it gets annoying. Memory may be playing tricks on me, but istr two places where I think I've driven a roundabout that joined two one way roads - one road merges into another.

They can break down at very high traffic volumes. They're not exactly space-efficient, and trying to force them to be results in making them too small and the too-small ones are worse than properly sized ones in every way. They block/shorten sight lines. They require more knowledge and involvement from drivers.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GregY,

I’m in Stuart, FL atm. Holly cow the tiny roundabouts! I love driving and parking a crew cab long bed pickup in a beach town.

I saw a nice sign that said don’t stop on the RR tracks because the trains could be doing 80mph. One, I want to ride that train. Two, I couldn’t figure out where the RR tracks even were while I was maneuvering through some sort of 6 way intersection.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
I’m in Stuart, FL atm. Holly cow the tiny roundabouts! I love driving and parking a crew cab long bed pickup in a beach town.

I saw a nice sign that said don’t stop on the RR tracks because the trains could be doing 80mph. One, I want to ride that train. Two, I couldn’t figure out where the RR tracks even were while I was maneuvering through some sort of 6 way intersection.

Okay, but seriously - Stuart isn't a beach town. It's more of a fishing town.

That 6-way intersection is Confusion Corner. Nobody gets it the first few times, but it's hardly a normal traffic circle, either. The good news is, the RR gates come down at least 4-5 minutes before the trains come through.

I assume the "tiny" circles you don't like are the ones along A1A. But they're small enough that you hardly have to adjust course to go around them.

Regardless, the way the blue-hairs drive down there, I'd much rather have the circles than lights.

-Rob

Ugh

Had to run out to Wegmans tonight, this traffic circle that I hit on the way has been there for over a year and you think people would have figured out how the damned thing works by now.

Guy in front of me creeps in cautiously then completely stops and waves in a guy who is waiting to enter.



SMDH