Even the word roundabout sounds happy. Maybe that's because I associate it with kids playing on merry-go-rounds. I believe in the UK they call those roundabouts. When Andy was a pre-schooler his day care mom went abroad and brought him a gift. It was book about roundabouts in England. Carousels.
I had been familiar with roundabouts a.k.a. traffic circles. They have them out east. They are a better use of land than some of our interchanges. Most replace four way stop signs. They are a little scarier when the traffic moves fast. Remember the scene in European Vacation with Chevy Chase et al driving round and round from daylight to nightfall? The roundabout by the Arc De Triomphe is multi-laned and big and intimidating and fast moving. You do a lot of lane changing on similar traffic circles. Images like this have probably intimidated Americans from driving in European cities. It did me. Most of their roundabouts are small and easy to use. Just stay off the one in Paris unless you feel daring.
Roundabouts are making their way into midwest road planning. One new housing development near us have one and it works smoothly. It is by the entrance to the area, a low traffic point. Now they are branching out and proposing one on a high speed hwy. in the area. That should be more interesting.
I recently read a report by someone using a newer traffic circle in the metro. He entered and a car on another spoke turned onto it going the wrong way. She thought that would be "shorter". That brought back memories of Jon's grandpa in his latter years. The first time he drove on a cloverleaf interchange (in the 1960's) he was confused and stopped, parked, and went to ask someone what to do. I think the family was wary of his continuing to drive after that.
Roundabout are for reducing serious accidents. If you have one it is more likely to be a fender bender. They eliminate the T-bone accident which usually causes more injuries. Having recently been involved in such an accident, I support prevention. So if you see a sign that says, "Roundabout", go with the flow. Go, don't stop. Don't park. There is no carousel nearby.
http://www.twincities.com/washington/ci_10624514
I had been familiar with roundabouts a.k.a. traffic circles. They have them out east. They are a better use of land than some of our interchanges. Most replace four way stop signs. They are a little scarier when the traffic moves fast. Remember the scene in European Vacation with Chevy Chase et al driving round and round from daylight to nightfall? The roundabout by the Arc De Triomphe is multi-laned and big and intimidating and fast moving. You do a lot of lane changing on similar traffic circles. Images like this have probably intimidated Americans from driving in European cities. It did me. Most of their roundabouts are small and easy to use. Just stay off the one in Paris unless you feel daring.
Roundabouts are making their way into midwest road planning. One new housing development near us have one and it works smoothly. It is by the entrance to the area, a low traffic point. Now they are branching out and proposing one on a high speed hwy. in the area. That should be more interesting.
I recently read a report by someone using a newer traffic circle in the metro. He entered and a car on another spoke turned onto it going the wrong way. She thought that would be "shorter". That brought back memories of Jon's grandpa in his latter years. The first time he drove on a cloverleaf interchange (in the 1960's) he was confused and stopped, parked, and went to ask someone what to do. I think the family was wary of his continuing to drive after that.
Roundabout are for reducing serious accidents. If you have one it is more likely to be a fender bender. They eliminate the T-bone accident which usually causes more injuries. Having recently been involved in such an accident, I support prevention. So if you see a sign that says, "Roundabout", go with the flow. Go, don't stop. Don't park. There is no carousel nearby.
http://www.twincities.com/washington/ci_10624514
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