From:    Craig Donze <cdonze@ONESOURCECONSULT.COM>

Subject: Re: Fire Chief Concerns with delay

The City of Brookfield, Wisconsin's Fire Chief has publicly spoken out in favor of roundabouts as a means of improving the speed and safety of his first responders navigating through intersections during peak hour periods. 

His opinion has consistently been as follows:

At signalized intersections, his apparatus frequently must cross over the centerline to get around the queue and then slow as the apparatus cross thru the intersection proper to ensure that cross traffic has stopped.  This is the direct result of drivers doing as they are taught and stopping for emergency vehicles.  In most cases during peak hour periods, it is not possible for the queue to pull over to the side of the road due to the typical section of the approach legs.

At a roundabout intersection, his apparatus has generally been able to stay in lane and proceed through the roundabout at normal operating speeds.  The Chief has found that the queue in front of the apparatus simply clears from the approach leg and proceeds out of the roundabout where they pull over and out of the travel lane to allow the apparatus to continue in-lane to their destination.

Craig Donze, PE LEED BD&C

Principal

One Source Consulting

19435 W. Capitol Drive

Suite L05

Brookfield, WI 53045

(262) 781-9005

(262) 364-7515 m

www.onesourceconsult.com

Subject: Fire Response Video link (Fire Chief Concerns with delay)

Scott,

Taking the opening you presented in your last Post, here is a link that could be helpful and good to know about if you need to show actual fire response through a roundabout.  There is a back story to this video but suffice to say that this roundabout now handles in the 35,000 ADT and when we filmed it, it was at 7,000 ADT...Fire Department still supportive with how flexible a roundabout can be with response times and driver behavior.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Safety/roundabouts/

With the above link,  go to the left column and choose "How to Drive a Roundabout" in the Video Series Group.   (Warning, you will go directly to YouTube when you click on the link to get the video.  

When you reach the YouTube video, go to the 1:45 mark on the video and they give you some actual footage of fire trucks traversing through roundabout and various cars reactions.  Granted this footage was done in 2001-2002 but much of it applies.   

Brian Walsh

WSDOT