What is a Modern Roundabout?

Simply stated, a modern roundabout is a transportation management tool that moves traffic through an intersection without the aid of traffic signals. More specifically, a modern roundabout is an intersection with one-way circulation around a central island where entering traffic must yield the right-of-way to the traffic circulating within the roundabout.

Why is the County building Roundabouts?

Engineering analysis have determined that roundabouts can perform more effectively than traditional signals at many intersections.

Although roundabouts are not appropriate for all intersections, they do provide our community with another tool to address traffic congestion and to further enhance the safety of our roadways.

How many Roundabouts will the County build?

To date, Livingston County has ten roundabouts, including three multi-lane roundabouts on Lee Road at US-23, two multi-lane roundabouts in Green Oak Village Place, and single lane roundabouts at the intersections of Kensington and Jacoby (Brighton Township), Winans Lake and Hamburg Roads (Hamburg Township), Hartland Road at the Meijer's driveway (Hartland Township), Main Street and Third Street (City of Brighton), and Maltby Road at Scranton Middle School (Green Oak Township).

Traffic circles have been part of the transportation system in the United States since 1905, when the Columbus Circle designed by William Phelps Eno opened in New York City. Subsequently, many large circles or rotaries were built in the United States. The prevailing designs enabled high-speed merging and weaving of vehicles. Priority was given to entering vehicles, facilitating high-speed entries. High crash experience and congestion in the circles led to rotaries falling out of favor in America after the mid-1950's. Internationally, the experience with traffic circles was equally negative, with many countries experiencing circles that locked up as traffic volumes increased.

Changes in the United Kingdom created the modern roundabout...

The modern roundabout was developed in the United Kingdom to rectify problems associated with these traffic circles. In 1966, the United Kingdom adopted a mandatory "give-way" rule at all circular intersections, which required entering traffic to give way, or yield, to circulating traffic. This rule prevented circular intersections from locking up, by not allowing vehicles to enter the intersection until there were sufficient gaps in circulating traffic. In addition, smaller circular intersections were proposed that required adequate horizontal curvature of vehicle paths to achieve slower entry and circulating speeds.

Modern roundabouts have improved traffic safety and traffic operations over older circles...

These changes improved the safety characteristics of the circular intersections by reducing the number and particularly the severity of collisions. Thus, the resultant modern roundabout is significantly different from the older traffic circle both in how it operates and in how it is designed. The modern roundabout represents a substantial improvement, in terms of operations and safety, when compared with older rotaries and traffic circles. Therefore, many countries have adopted them as a common intersection form and some have developed extensive design guides and methods to evaluate the operational performance of modern roundabouts.

Courtesy of Maryland State Highway Administration

When designed correctly modern roundabouts can significantly reduce the amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere from idling vehicles when compared to other intersections.  At signalized intersection locations, where actuated signals are not present, many drivers must wait up to 20 seconds or longer for the light to turn green, even during off-peak hours when no crossroad or opposing traffic is present on other approaches.  Since the entry control at modern roundabouts utilizes the "yield to left" principle, drivers spend less time idling their vehicles prior to entering the intersection.

Gas prices in many parts of the country are on the rise, especially during peak travel times of the year.  Converting more intersections to modern roundabouts can reduce overall fuel consumption.

A Status Report published by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the fall of 2005 (Volume 40, No. 9) studied 10 intersections where roundabouts were considered as alternatives for an intersection improvement project, but ultimately the road authority determined to use traffic signals as the entry control.  During this study, researchers estimated vehicle delays and fuel consumption at the existing conventional signalized intersections, and compared them with estimates of what could have been expected if a modern roundabout were chosen as the preferred alternative at the ten intersections.

A key finding from the study indicated that combined vehicle delays at the 10 intersections would have been reduced by 62-74 percent, saving 325,000 hours (or 37.10 years) of motorist's time annually.  It was estimated that fuel consumption would have also decreased by about 235,000 gallons per year.  Assuming an average cost of $2.50 for a gallon regular gasoline, that is an annual savings of $587,500 for the ten intersections.  Since less fuel would have been consumed at modern roundabout intersections, fewer emissions would have been released into the atmosphere. 

Capacity
Intersections with a high volume of left turns are better handled by a roundabout than a multi-phased traffic signal.