Intersection Roundabouts.
 

From the Idiot drivers thread, roundabouts were mentioned. Long Beach has gone nucking futz with these things. No 2 are alike. They are constantly being damaged by errant drivers and things like moving trucks that encounter them and can't back up to an alternate route.

This not to mention emergency vehicles, but they have rerouted as much as possible. The general census is that they are not good. Does our city listen to citizens? Of course not. BTW, with on exception of a large traffic circle (that's what they have called it forever) that was built in 1930 on Highway 1 or PCH, all the new ones are in residential neighborhoods where the posted highest speed is 30 MPH.

They do slow people down, I can attest to that. Designed with bike paths in mind, I avoid them on my bike because cars actually come closer.

The newest one was placed for one reason and one reason only. A big lazy intersection that is never busy but is a great place for doing donuts.

Who else suffers these?

They're awesome once people get used to them. Not having to stop or worse yet, waiting for a light to turn is a good thing

Not what you want to hear but I love roundabouts.

They work very well, once people are 'educated', and as long as the traffic is light or moderate. In heavy traffic they are a mess.

The worst example of RA's that I've seen is in Sarasota, FL
There were 3 intersections on the 'Trail' spaced a block apart that had traffic lights and were very busy. The traffic would sometimes back up into the light before.

So, to remedy this, they built 3 RA's in a row...each one a two-laner.
Sometimes it helps...other times it's chaos.

I have learned to love them as well. They are being put in all over the place in my area.

I was reading about them the other day and it appears they have a huge positive impact in reducing fatality accidents by something like 90%.

Oddly enough, yesterday on my way out to a tow, had to take a 20 minute delay because there was an accident at the one near me .
The local one ,really alleviated traffic at a weird intersection that was always backed up, but there are wrecks here constantly .
My good autocross buddy, who knows how to drive, spun out and took a sign down the side of his honda, and I am always hearing of accidents there . I know when I am travelling , it can be unnerving if you do not know the intersection, trying to merge, watch for merging traffic all while getting the right exit .
You just gotta know how to do it properly .
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I like them as well, much better then a four way stop. The problem is people don't understand the rules, most of them here have a yield to traffic sign prior to entering it to make it obvious to people who can't figure it out, at least here the people already in the circle have right of way. I had one lady lay on the horn on me, I was already in the circle and she was to my right trying to enter, she was probably British.

Milt, I don't like 'em either...maybe it's an age thing?

They are now a staple here in Southern Maryland.

I absolutely love them...may be that we are fairly rural, but it works perfectly.


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Now that I am used to them, I really like most of them.

They hit hard here and some very complicated ones got put in early. I would think that if they put in single lane individual ones for a few years ahead of multiple lane with several in a row, people would be better at navigating them.

I seem to remember being told that there are more accidents at a roundabout than a 4 way stop. but they are minor, rather than high speed deadly accidents.

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Here in Wellington we have the biggest roundabout in the Sothern Hemisphere.

Gotta have something to be proud of :rolleyes:

There is a turning lane with less traffic, so you enter the roundabout in that lane passing about 50 cars, hit the gas and do a lane change as some out-of-towner slows down from confusion. Pass the slow lane. Indicate you are going to exit to show you are a resonsible driver and hit the gas again to try to make the next light.

There are two in town. Don’t like them but got used to them. In summer we a flooded with tourists who **** everything up.
And early winter when ice and centrifugal force make them scarey.

I like them. If there are multiple lanes, they provide a good opportunity to pass people who don't know what they're doing :)

I must admit, I've missed my turn on a unfamiliar round about especially when there are more than 4 options. But then I just go around again and exit.

Varmint, you're in napa? Another much needed RA coming to 3rd and Silverado trail hopefully sooner than later. CalTrans has one on the books for the Shellville 4 way intersection in Sonoma which will be a blessing

I like them (better than a stop light or stop sign) as long as a moron doesn't stop in front of me that is then indecisive about pulling out.

The first roundabout I remember driving was in Manama, Bahrain...1990/91: Multiple lanes in and out, a convergence that threw me off the first few times and then the light came on.

Love them.

Here in Southern Maryland, easy as Sunday morning:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1712346517.jpg

Small town Alaska. Someone in the local dot has a hard on for roundabouts. Couple four way intersections the stop signs have been replaced with traffic circles.

They function but I don’t see how they are an improvement.

People in the USA do not understand yield and merge, that is why they don't work that well here.

Round abouts are great at keeping traffic moving. If you don't have to stop, as with any four way intersection, you save gas.
As with anything new, it is a matter of education and we seem bent on proving we suck at that. :D

Best
Les

In theory (unless you're Baz) you have to stop at intersections, but you DON'T stop at roundabouts.

Throw in a DDI..(diverging diamond interchange) and watch it blow their minds.:D

Ooo, just looked up DDI. I like it. Shouldn't be a problem if you can follow signage but unfortunately many have a problem with following directions

I generally like round abouts. I was introduced to them while driving in Europe in the '70s. Drivers in Spain were especially aggressive in those things. Once we had a lady friend of my then wife who wanted to drive in Europe. She got into one round about and froze, panicked and I had to coach her out of the thing.

There is one near me that has been there for 4 or 5 years. It's slow, because the new users think they are being routed wrong when they see the lane veering off to the left.
It's funny, but it really does reduce accidents by not having traffic turning left in front of on-coming traffic.

I really like the single lane ones, the multiple lane ones are a horror show.

Same here. Single lanes are a breeze but when you have two lanes entering the roundabout, it can get challenging, when you want to exit.

Did anyone read this?
 

"....all the new ones are in residential neighborhoods where the posted highest speed is 30 MPH." There are no roundabouts on any boulevards.

Not one is a 4 lane street. Not one is on a street wide enough to have a median. Still think these are great? Most are on streets that are 40 to 50 feet wide.

There is ONE roundabout in the whole of Los Angeles and it's nestled under 2 freeways nowhere near residential.
Google Maps: 34.08125041693894, -118.2300230786747

Look at this one: 33.76618139773021, -118.1373864631611 Follow that street left and right to find 4 of these little things. Residential speed limit is 25. OH, and each one still has a stop sign. 4 way and 2 way.

The "Orange Circle" in Orange CA. has been there since 1887.
2 lanes, 4 entry points
A rite of passage is go around the wrong way at O dark thirty.

Here is the one on PCH that has been here since 1930. 33.79052962497674, -118.14231479901663

Right of passage, that's good.

I raced a car around this one on a dirt bike. Except I was on the grass in the middle and he was alongside in his car. I have no idea if anyone won, it was too much fun and I bet I fell off the bike laughing. Circa 1964.

Circle Porsche is right on the circle.

We have one near here where commuters come flying up an off ramp from a local Interstate, hit the roundabout and don't plan on yielding to traffic already in the circle. I don't use that one anymore, scary interactions with horns, brake noise, etc. It splits into 3 options, the favorite goes straight into #2, a connector into a another option which if lucky you don't need to slow down to make the curve.
NC is now entering the law of diminishing returns on roundabouts, where the traffic engineers are running out of good spots and just now sticking them everwhere.

I can't wait to fly around in my drone. Then I won't have to deal with any silly impediments. No one and nothing between me and where I want to go. Ahh, what a relief it will be!

Yield, you means they are first no matter? Merge, that means they go and everyone stay put or else you get to see his middle finger

Our round abouts are small.

They work great if people know how to use them. Peak flow rates are vastly improved.

Your average American is too dumb to understand words like “priority” and “left” and god forbid the words “give way” gets used, so they struggle with the concepts involved.

it's our inherent "hooray for me, fuch you" society here. If you have a moment, give a moment, grant the right of way to your fellow man. it really only takes a few seconds to be the bigger person that will make these work..

you have done a roundabout correctly if a fellow motorist nods or waves at you after you've let them in. if you get a middle finger, a blowing horn, or a disgusted head shake from another driver it's likely you have done it wrong. be better.

that moth%$ F#$&^ is right near my house next to the home depot. I have to get through it daily to get my kid to school to avoid the interchange nightmare. Before that, it flowed like a river for 20 years and never any real mess due to a 4 way light. Now with the two lane round about, along with the fooking commercial art object in the middle (I am sure us tax payer pay a huge amount for it) causes traffic like if it was in downtown LA. People are at a dead stop waiting for it to clear before they enter and of course on their phone with every chance they get so it movers even slower. Its not residential but a semi busy intersection. Drivers are constantly taking up two lanes due to their inability to stay in their own lane in their little tiny cars.

OH I forget to tell you guys that circle of death goes from feeding two lanes into it from three directions into one lane that merges into one single lane about 50' after the roundabout. Talking about traffic nightmare. Who the F designed and approved that?

Its right near the 5 and the 110

That was the exactly place the dumb fook started to scream / curse at me with his kid in the car trying to strong arm into my lane pretend to hit me. Lane merges.

There is one in Paris that is just a dirty great big free for all. Traffic mayhem. You need to be local to understand it I guess.