Livingston County Road Commission
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Livingston County Road Commission
No. Other than sharing a circular shape, a modern roundabout operates much differently than other traffic circles, including rotaries. A modern roundabout requires entering traffic to yield the right–of–way to traffic already in the roundabout. This keeps the traffic in the roundabout constantly moving and prevents much of the gridlock that plagues rotaries, for example. Modern roundabouts are also much smaller than rotaries and thus operate at safer, slower speeds. The design of a modern roundabout allows capacities comparable to signals but with generally a higher degree of safety.
The size of a roundabout is determined by capacity needs, the size of the largest vehicle, the need to achieve appropriate speeds throughout the roundabout, and other factors. To handle typical trucks with overall wheelbases of 50 feet or more, a single–lane roundabout needs to be at least 100 feet in diameter and is typically 120 to 140 feet in diameter.
Roundabouts can offer a good solution to safety and capacity problems at intersections. At intersections where roundabouts have been installed to replace existing intersections, accidents of all types have been reduced by over 60 percent, and injury accidents have been reduced by over 75 percent. Roundabouts can also offer high capacity at intersections without requiring the expense of constructing and maintaining a traffic signal.
It depends on the number of pedestrians and vehicles. In many cases, a roundabout can offer a safer environment for pedestrians than a traffic signal because the pedestrian crossing at a roundabout is reduced to two simple crossings of one–way traffic moving at slow speeds. A pedestrian crossing at a traffic signal still needs to contend with vehicles turning right or left on green, vehicles turning right on red, and vehicles running the red light. The latter of these potential conflicts occur at high speeds and often result in injuries or fatalities to pedestrians.
Several roundabouts have been installed near schools in the United States, and none has reported any significant problems as it relates to school areas. Some children are driven to school as opposed to taking the bus. School personnel, and sometimes State Police, have been called to manage traffic during arrival and departure times. Roundabouts allow school drop-off and pick-up to occur in a safe and efficient manner.
No. The choice of using a roundabout versus a traffic signal is a case–by–case decision. Each candidate intersection is individually evaluated to determine whether a roundabout or a traffic signal is more effective.
Yes. The roundabout has been designed specifically to accommodate large vehicles such as yours. As you approach the roundabout, stay close to the left side of the entry. As you pass through the roundabout, your trailer may drag over the special apron around the central island – it was designed specifically for this purpose. As you exit, again stay close to the left side of the exit. Click here for a demonstration of this.
At a multilane roundabout, you may need to occupy the entire circulatory roadway to make the turn. Signal your intention in advance and claim both lanes on approach to the roundabout.
In general, approach a multilane roundabout the same way you would approach any other intersection. If you want to turn left, use the left–most lane and signal that you intend to turn left. If you want to turn right, use the right–most lane and signal that you intend to turn right. In all cases, pass counterclockwise around the central island. When preparing to exit, turn on your right turn signal as you pass the exit before the one you want to use.
If the roadway in the roundabout is wide enough, you may be able to pull as far to the right as possible and allow the emergency vehicle to pass. However, it is generally better to completely clear the intersection and pull off to the side past the roundabout.
A bicyclist has a number of options at a roundabout, and your choice will depend on your degree of comfort riding in traffic. The speed of cars through a roundabout are typically 15 to 25 mph, close to the speed you ride your bicycle. You can choose to either circulate as a vehicle or use the sidewalk around the roundabout. When circulating as a vehicle, be sure to ride near the middle of the lane so that drivers can see you and will not attempt to pass you. Remember that cars should be traveling at speeds similar to your speeds.
There is no international consensus on this question. In the United Kingdom, the general practice is to not stripe, although they will stripe some complicated multilane roundabouts where it improves operations. In Australia, the general practice is to stripe the circulatory roadway. In Maryland, some limited striping of multilane roundabouts have been done, primarily to aid exiting vehicles.
A number of communities in snowy areas have installed roundabouts, including Howard (Green Bay), Wisconsin; Montpelier, Vermont; and Vail, Colorado. All have indicated that while there is some initial adjustment in procedures for snowplow crews, roundabouts generally present no major problems for snow removal. In Howard, Wisconsin, for example, one truck will start on the truck apron and plow around the roundabout to the outside, while another truck will plow each entry and exit, pushing the snow to the outside. Roundabouts make it easier to turn snowplows as well.