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Testimonials

Page history last edited by Frank Broen 11 years, 1 month ago

Subject: A Positive Front-Page Article Re. Redding, CA's 2nd Roundabout

 

Thought everyone would enjoy some positive press.   We've worked hard to get the local newspaper on the side of Roundabouts... and its working.

 

This article covered 50% of the front page of the newspaper and continued to the 2nd page.   The reporter met me on site and recorded a video of me driving/narrating through the roundabout.

 

The two roundabouts on this corridor are both single laners that have been master planned to be upgraded to 2-lanes when warranted.  

 

MTJ Engineering (Mark Johnson) provided the PEER review for the roundabouts.

 

Cut/paste the following link in your browser:

 

http://www.redding.com/news/2011/oct/22/slow-down-stay-right-dont-stop-learning-curve/


 

 

 

Paul: Well, I haven't seen this one. But it is a really good one.

 http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?o=3D1&id=3D266598

Carmel , IN is the site of our next International Roundabout Conference. (S= AVE THE DATE- Mid May 2011) They are definitely "Roundabout City". The mayo= r promotes roundabouts whenever and wherever he can. Helps to have a local = politician doing that. Excellent article. Gene

 


 

very controversial subject but an interesting article nevertheless;

 

 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/15/BAGT1A57EL.DTL&tsp=1

 

 Gene


A BLOGGER GOES ROUNDABOUT

The much-maligned roundabout in West Knox County has apparently won over at least one former critic.

From KnoxvilleNative.com:

"For the past 5 years, I've complained about the traffic going from Concord Road onto Northshore.

"I sat in endless lines late for my sons' ball games at the Farragut Park.

"And I made my frustration clear.

"I called TDOT countless times asking when they were going to fix it.

"Each time, they told me they were working on it and that they were putting in a round-about (at least that's what I call it).

"Well when I heard this, I freaked. How could something like a round-about work in a high traffic area.

"I thought TDOT or whomever was responsible for this had lost their mind.

"I'm here today to apologize for ever thinking that.

"The round-about has been in place now for several months and it's amazing how folks have adapted to it.

"No lines. No frustrated drivers. Not even a stop. People just slow down, hit their gap, and move on. Sweet."


The words will make you out and out

Conway's an Arkansas town. That means that for the most part, we're pretty set in our ways. When people come in with newfangled ideas, implying that the way we've been doing things isn't necessarily the best, that gets our back up a little bit. We're liable to say some pretty heated things in defense of a status quo we never liked that much until somebody had the gall to suggest it could be improved.

My favorite recent example of this was a proposed sign ordinance primarily impacting Oak Street, the road that goes through our picturesque downtown and then devolves into fast-food tattoo-parlor shopping strip territory for the next half mile until it hits the freeway. Business owners, looking for the most effective (and that often means obtrusive) way to get passersby's attention, naturally opposed the ordinance. When push came to shove at the City Council meeting where the ordinance was debated, and the city planning director gestured at a photograph of the wires and signs and LEDs littering Oak Street with the comment, "That's ugly," a businessman stood up for a different aesthetic viewpoint. "That's not ugly," he retorted. "That's beautiful. I think that's beautiful."

We've got a new round of changes coming to our little town -- the kind you drive around. The first roundabout on a major thoroughfare in the city opened last year at the intersection of Tyler and Washington streets, hard by Hendrix College. The city's official website promises that more roundabouts are on the way, and they ain't lying. Road construction on Prince Street and Western Avenue, just north of Conway High School and next to the west end of Laurel Park, has progressed far enough to be identifiable as a roundabout.

Now I love roundabouts. I was thrilled when the Washington Street roundabout opened, and I now take every opportunity to drive through there. I've never seen more than momentary confusion or hesitation from drivers navigating the roundabout, even when it was first completed, and I haven't seen anything but absolutely smooth sailing for months (I drive through it 3-4 times a week).

I admit that the concept is something we're not used to. The city felt it might be helpful to include links to educational videos on the subject of roundabout etiquette on its homepage. But it's only one lane and four entrances, people. I think even the oldest stick-in-the-muds here in town should be able to figure it out.

Yet a few months after the Washington Street roundabout was completed, a letter to the editor appeared in the paper from someone apoplectic about the prospect of having more of these abominations constructed. He claimed to have seen daily examples of near-crashes, cars stopping in the middle of the roundabout in utter confusion, and even folks backing up when they missed their exit the first time around. Dire predictions of the apocalypse followed, should the city be foolish enough to expand its roundabout experiment. In fact, the letter writer has the resigned, exasperated tone of those who are certain disaster is right around the corner, but that people with their minds set on absolute stupidity cannot be stopped by plain common sense.

Needless to say, the roundabout of progress kept churning despite the writer's intimations of doom. And ironically, I doubt that his mind has been changed by the failure of fatal accidents (or any accidents that I know about) to materialize at Washington and Tyler. I can't wait to see a fresh round of outrage at the change of traffic pattern on Prince Street, which will fade unremarked and unremembered when we become used to the changes and no longer feel inclined to call ugliness beauty, safety danger, and a circle a square.

4 comments:

Justin Ray said...

Roundabouts, eh? Never seen one. Don't like it.

doafy said...

In Long Beach, we have one roundabout, the Traffic Circle. It's got four entrances, all to major streets, and three unmarked lanes in the circle. When people use it correctly, it's a beautiful thing. I use it on purpose on a regular basis because you end up with such a high when all goes well. (It's like watching a good lane-change dance on the freeway in smooth moving heavy traffic) However, I have many friends who avoid it at all costs. Frankly, I'm glad they do, because when the idiots get on the circle, they *are* a pain.

I first encountered normal roundabouts in Germany. They're so simple, you'd be surprised more wouldn't be in the states.

 


 

Jeffrey,

You may want to look up the newspaper articles in Vail Colorado.  There was a big turnaround there by the high profile film maker, Warren Miller, who was the man who did many skiing films and lived in Vail.  He was publicly very vocal and against roundabouts.  He publicly (article in the local paper) retracted his opposition after they were built.  This would have occurred in 1995.

There was also the Vail City Manager's testimony when he left Vail years later.  He cited the decision to go with roundabouts at the Main Vail Interchange as one of, if not the top, accomplishment during his time leading Vail City Government.

Hope these help,

Bill Hange


 

roundabout + changed mind:

http://www.alaskaroundabouts.com/mythfact4.html

http://www.thecabin.net/stories/020908/loc_0209080002.shtml

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20020605&slug=circl

es05e0

http://www.kvnews.com/articles/2008/08/13/news/doc48a33a1a7a781912268765.txt

roundabout+good results:

http://ci.golden.co.us/files/roundaboutpaper.pdf

roundabout+skeptic:

http://blog.nola.com/tpnorthshore/2007/09/traffic_circling_just_fine_in.html

http://www.iihs.org/sr/pdfs/sr4009.pdf

Scott Batson, PE

Portland Office of Transportation

1120 SW 5th Avenue, Room 800

Portland, OR 97204

Phone: 503-823-5422

Fax: 503-823-7576


 

Subject: Re: After Construction Testimonials--DO A FIELD TRIP!

The Vail newspapers before and after installation had a lot of stories on opposition and then a lot of shirt-eating after

their first roundabouts were installed--including a major opponent, a skiing icon cinimatographer.  In 2001 there was

huge opposition in Voorheesville, NY (there was a school gym full of folks on 9/10 and a 9/11 referendum which

strongly opposed the roundabouts--am sure there are plenty of clips from the local paper after the 2002 installation

of the single laner.  The NYSDOT offered to replace the roundabout with signals if the community did not like the

roundabout--the roundabout remains there today.

Opposition before building is typical.  To deal with this, take community leaders--including opponents--on a

roundabout tour.  There are plenty of roundabouts now in virtually every state in every type of land use--take a group 

"roundabout tour" so people can get a first hand experience.  Have hosted a number of these "tours" in Vermont.  


I'm a big fan of taking people on roundabout tours.  I've found it's best they be escorted on these tours, else they not see what they are looking at.  It's necessary to point out the various safety features of the roundabout; you cannot assume people will spot these on their own.  If fact, they may even return from their solo tour even further convinced that roundabouts are madness.  In particular, I make a point of pointing out the speedometer readings as we drive over the crosswalks and in the circulating lane; otherwise, tourists never realize how just slowly they are traveling.  

I also take them on a walkabout, where we first pretend we are children and then that we are older peds -- I describe the "operating characteristics" or "performance profile" of those demographic groups and explain how that gives rise to special needs which are met by roundabouts. 

-Ken

Ken Sides, PE


Though some drivers may be cursing Grass Valley’s new roundabout, a retired Caltrans engineer from Penn Valley couldn’t be happier.

Known as the “roundabout guy” in traffic engineering circles, John Burnside has been advocating “yield at entry” roundabouts for more than a decade.

“They’re safe and effective, if they’re properly designed,” Burnside said.

Yield to traffic in the circle

Designing roundabouts since 1985, Burnside is known to deliberately cruise Sierra College Drive for the circle found there.

Under the guidance of veteran roundabout engineer Leif Ourston, Burnside helped Caltrans develop its roundabout guidelines. Retired since 2004, Burnside now serves as a consulting traffic engineer.

His business card reads, “Ins and Outs of Roundabouts.”

Modern-day traffic circles have existed since 1905, when the nation’s most prominent, Columbus Circle, was built in New York City. Modern roundabout rules were born in 1966, when the British enacted a “yield at entry” rule.

Yield signs replace stop signs and traffic lights owing to the roundabout’s smoother flow of traffic.

“You yield to circulating traffic. You don’t have to stop if no one is in your way,” Burnside said. “If you miss your exit, you go around again.”

In the 1990s, Burnside acted like a “thorn in the side” of Caltrans, he said, pushing them to convert the Los Alamitos traffic circle in Southern California into a modern roundabout. The conversion loosened traffic gridlock and sharply improved the safety of the circle that now handles more than 60,000 vehicles a day.

Safer travel and European charm

Properly designed roundabouts with tight curves force drivers to travel at slower rates of speed, reducing the risk of injury collisions.

In a 2000 study, the total number of collisions that occurred at 24 U.S. intersections converted from being controlled by stop signs and traffic lights to roundabouts was reduced by 39 percent. Injury-related collisions were lowered by 76 percent, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found.

“We have always killed more people on our streets than in our wars. Driving is not safe,” Burnside said.

Supplying gray city streets with pleasing park-like aesthetics is another reason to adopt the roundabout, Burnside said.

Resistant to change their driving patterns, Californians are slower than states like Oregon, Washington and Colorado to embrace roundabouts.

“It’s not because they’re roundabouts; it’s because they’re new. Human beings hate change,” Burnside said, applauding Grass Valley’s progressive decision to adopt two roundabouts so far. “We’re ahead of the curve that way for a small community.”


From:    mjwallwork <mjwallwork@COMCAST.NET>

Subject: Re: Bird Rock Transit

I wish less emphasis/comment was placed on the traffic volumes for La Jolla Boulevard and more on the impacts on people.

  When I designed La Jolla Boulevard, I wanted to create a road for all people, a road to serve the community that did acknowledge that others would also use the road and you cannot wish them away. 

Therefore, I created the best road design within the physical constraints and the community wishes I could for all people. Remember I prepared the design in 2002, which is quite a different environment than today.

One of the great achievements of this design is the children I saw on the street without adults. I saw several groups of children threesomes around 10, 12 years old crossing at the roundabouts without adult supervision. That is the real achievement of my design, not how many cars it is carrying. Now children can cross the road themselves and go to their friends house or the beach without adults giving them a real sense of independence and saving the parents of driving them across the road. Beforehand, La Jolla Boulevard was hard for adults to cross, even I had to be careful and I never saw children there.

  This time I saw many families, groups of people, people everywhere, the parking bays were full even at 8.00 PM. Previously the street was like a desert, devoid of all but a hard few souls.

For the car people, when I analyzed the five intersections in 2002 the peak hour traffic volumes in the peak direction only was between 1,400 to 1,730 vehicles per hour.

When I looked at my 2002 traffic report found this interesting statement that I had made, “Traffic engineers cannot create time. Nor can they create capacity without adding lanes to a road or an intersection. Therefore, when an intersection is full it is full. That is a fact of life. In the case of La Jolla Boulevard, there are two signalized intersections, Nautilus Boulevard to the north and Mission Boulevard to the south, that are close to capacity. No mater what happens to La Jolla Boulevard within Bird Rock the potential for substantial growth in traffic through Bird Rock is limited. It does not matter what traffic models say about future traffic based on past trends, or people’s perceptions of traffic, there comes a time when an intersection or intersections cannot cater for more traffic.”

  It was on this basis that I designed La Jolla Boulevard not for predicted future growth but for people, by paying attention to the needs of all people and less attention to traffic. Balance, is the real achievement of La Jolla Boulevard.


Subject: Bird Rock Transit

Michael's sensitive essay begs the question, "why are we so focused on ADT,

anyway?"  I submit it's partly because when ADT goes up, LOS goes down and

the phone starts ringing with irate callers. 

But let's take a closer look at the "psycho-dynamics" of congested

signalized intersections when the light turns red. Drivers and passengers

sit dead-still for an eternity with no escape, trapped in ugly, unpleasant

surroundings in a long line of fellow sufferers, some of them openly

hostile, every cell screaming "GO, GO, GO", with plenty of time to stew and

compose their next letter of complaint to you.  Many would rather risk

running a red light than run the risk of having to stop & sit. 

But when you take away the red light, the situation can feel very different.

There's no red light in the distance, taunting you with the possibility it

might turn green-yellow-red before you get to it.  In many cases the queue

will be drastically shorter, and you don't just sit there in it utterly

motionless -- you sort of constantly dribble forward, so you and your

cohorts have a feeling of continual movement, of optimism for your immediate

future, not of being trapped for who knows how long. 

And because the four corner properties weren't killed off by a signal, your

surroundings needn't be dead corner blight, but rather prosperous,

attractive places with life, landscaping and pedestrians.  The peds crossing

in front of you aren't in a state of nervous discomfort and you don't resent

their presence in the intersection because they aren't interfering with your

trip.  Before you know it, you're at the yield sign and concentrating on

accepting the next slow-moving, welcoming gap to come along, like stepping

onto the merry-go-round when you were a kid.  And there's no time for or

thought of composing that vituperative letter. 

So, a congested roundabout may engender much less public frustration and

backlash than a congested signalized intersection.

-Ken

Ken Sides, PE


Re the traffic volumes on La Jolla blvd.

What probably makes the one-lane RBTs successful at the 21-24k range, is the relatively low cross street volumes.

This is not unusual in a community like this.  the ocean is only a few blocks to the west. so less depth for trip generation on that side, and mostly single family detached homes in the community. With 5 RBTs, the cross street demand also spreads out some, all intersections the same, unlike signals.

If a particular cross street had higher volumes, with a bit more intersection R/W, a multi lane could be added with flaring to dual entry for a short distance. Still maintaining an overall 2 lane roadway.

Phil


Editorial: Roundabout outcry merits another look

February 10, 2009

It has become clear that the public debate over the redesign of Military Avenue wasn't finished. It makes sense for the Green Bay City Council to reconsider its late-night, 7-5 decision to build a four-lane street with roundabouts at six intersections when the work is done next year.

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But the council acted after dispassionate experts made sound recommendations in favor of this alternative, and it should not change its decision unless and until hard data — not emotion — shows that the plan now in place is the wrong one.

Brown County Sheriff's Department Patrol Capt. Randy Schultz can still tell you about the fatalities and other serious injuries he had to handle over the years at the four-way stop at Lineville Road and Velp Avenue — one that involved the death of a woman who was six months pregnant.

Now, there are five roundabouts in slightly more than a mile of Lineville Road, including at Velp, and the difference is dramatic.

"Crash numbers have gone down wherever we have installed a roundabout in Brown County," Schultz told the Green Bay Press-Gazette on Monday. The only serious crash that has occurred on any roundabout was the 2 a.m. death of an extremely intoxicated motorcyclist who was not wearing a helmet and failed to negotiate the curve, Schultz said.

But those are two-lane roads with one-lane roundabouts — Military Avenue would have four lanes with two-lane roundabouts. The best comparison is with the two-lane roundabout at the east end of the Claude Allouez Bridge in De Pere.

Capt. Brian Messerschmidt of the De Pere Police Department said there was a spike in traffic accidents when the roundabout opened. However, those accidents have decreased as drivers become more familiar with the traffic pattern.

"I think that I can speak for our department that they work well and that traffic isn't all bunched up," he said. "It's really a matter of patience, getting into the proper lane and following the signs."

And those accidents that occur are less severe because of the lowered speeds needed to navigate a roundabout. Schultz noted that the worst crashes occur when someone going too fast T-bones the passenger compartment of another vehicle at a 90-degree intersection.

"In a roundabout you're coming in at a more shallow angle and it's more of a glancing blow, more like a 'ding,'" Schultz said.

Alderman Tom Weber is right to say it's in the city's best interest to promote further debate. With that level of public outcry, another look is worth the time.

Supporters of the proposal must do a better job of educating the public. But opponents must prove their case based on evidence, not emotion. At this point the evidence from existing roundabouts indicates they are less expensive to build and easier to maintain than traffic lights — but most important, they save lives.


Date:    Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:57:37 -0700

From:    "Batson, Scott" <Scott.Batson@PORTLANDOREGON.GOV>

Subject: Good news story

 

http://www.newsreview.com/chico/content?oid=3D1861776

 

Scott Batson, PE

Portland Bureau of Transportation

 

New email:  scott.batson@portlandoregon.gov

 

Every intersection is a crosswalk

 

 

traffic calming   http://tinyurl.com/3a3mjwd

bike boulevards   http://tinyurl.com/33rgq7k


Sent: Monday, February 25, 2013 5:38 PM

To: ROUNDABOUTS@LISTSERV.KSU.EDU

Subject: roundabout success story

 

in today's traffic roundabout Google alert, a really heartwarming roundabout success story in the area east of East St. Louis, Illinois.

 

http://www.bnd.com/2013/02/24/2508361/roundabouts-are-becoming-all-the.html

 

the one I read the comments that go along with these, I still marvel at the degree of ignorance that is still out there, for example:

 

Pure stupidity....drivers don't know how to drive and it's more costly to build/maintain. Waste of money and too many safety concerns.

 

I feel like Clark Griswald everytime I see one of these crazy "death- traps", in Europe "where they actually work" they use stop lights and only traffic moving in oppposite directions are allowed to go at once, Eurpoe invented these things and I say give them back, we have our own spin-off form these things and we call it the Merry Go Round!

 

Hey look kids! There's Big Ben. And there's Parliment.

 

More intersections for me to avoid. I'm not keen on getting sideswiped in one of these things. Plus, It's comical to watch the semi's just drive over them. Great idea.

 

Like the Plague!

 

Eugene R(Gene)Russell Sr.,PE, PhD,

Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering,

2118 Fiedler Hall

Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506 Ph. 785 539 9422; Fx 785 532 7717; Cell. 785 410 5231 email. <geno@ksu.edu

 

 

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