Posted on 07/01/2011 9:59:00 AM PDT by the scotsman
'A roundabout revolution is slowly sweeping the US. The land of the car, where the stop sign and traffic light have ruled for decades, has started to embrace the free-flowing British circular.
A few moments after entering Carmel, it's clear why the city has been described as the Milton Keynes of the US.
As the sat-nav loudly and regularly points out, there's often a roundabout up ahead.
But unlike in the English town famous for them, driving into this pretty city on the outskirts of Indianapolis also involves passing several more under construction.
The city is at the forefront of a dizzying expansion, across several American states, of the circular traffic intersection redesigned in 1960s Britain and then exported globally. About 3,000 have been built in the US in the last 20 years.'
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
We’ve been trying to get rid of the Concord Rotary for decades. My Tom-tom calls it a rotary, but Tom-Tom’s U.S. office about a quarter mile from the Concord Rotary. What do they call it outside of Massachusetts? In the UK, it’s a “roundabout”. What is it in Iowa?
We’ve been trying to get rid of the Concord Rotary for decades. My Tom-tom calls it a rotary, but Tom-Tom’s U.S. office about a quarter mile from the Concord Rotary. What do they call it outside of Massachusetts? In the UK, it’s a “roundabout”. What is it in Iowa?
We’ve been trying to get rid of the Concord Rotary for decades. My Tom-tom calls it a rotary, but Tom-Tom’s U.S. office about a quarter mile from the Concord Rotary. What do they call it outside of Massachusetts? In the UK, it’s a “roundabout”. What is it in Iowa?
Roundabouts are a great way to keep traffice flowing. We go to the UK every year or so, and I’m now accustomed to driving them, but I don’t see them catching on in the US. They require a certain amount discipline and skill that most American drivers lack.
The traffic circle they are talking about in Carmel has been a boon for local repair shops also.
In Minnesota, I call it a Clusterf***.
Leftists here call them “Calming Circles”.
Shortly after it was installed the first incident was a Sheriff's car plowing right through it.
A simple one-lane traffic circle (roundable, rotary, whatever) is easy and an efficient way to manage traffic as long as people know how to yield. But when you get into some of the big urban circles, then it breaks down. I lived outside DC for a couple years and tried to navigate a few of theirs like Dupont Circle...noooo, thank you. Absolutely terrifying.
I grew up in a small town in Virginia with no stoplights...but one traffic circle smack in the center of town. It worked great. They did add a stoplight around 1990, but it was to a different intersection. The traffic circle is still there last I heard.
}:-)4
Way better solution than traffic lights in most, but not all, cases.
Truckee, California is now mostly roundabouts and it works very well, and no one misses the lights.
Anywhere you see one popping up, you can bet Agenda 21 is rearing its ugly head.
I hate them...totally.....
They are all the rage!
These are a great source of traffic accidents and dangerous as heck.
They may be cheap but they’re not effective at traffic control, or safety.
70s rock earworm bump.
Tthey claim it encourages “sustainabilty”, “livability”,”walkability” and all the other favortite leftard code words.
Some city managers just got back from their taxpayer-funded junket abroad and decided “let’s play Europe”.
If the traffic is too heavy, they are NOT free flowing. They are more like a fuster cluck which can better be regulated with a traffic light.
They work just fine in places were the space and the traffic flow (such as what would normally go through a four-way stop) is appropriate.
Recently, I attended my daughter's college graduation in Idaho. They had a roundabout to separate traffic between those headed for campus and those headed downtown. It seemed to work just fine and the locals, who do not have the experience driving roundabouts that we do here in the northeast, seemed to have no trouble figuring it out.
Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing a few more of them around here. We have roads which have got to be really confusing to outsiders-- left turns or, in most cases, right turns can keep going; those going straight have to stop, three way stops at four point intersections (one direction keeps going) and other stuff that makes me wonder who designed these roads in PA.
I HATE these things! Liberals love them because their so European and “calming”. They are sprouting like dandelions in Wisconsin. In fact, in one community they literally have three of these round abouts all in a row, one right after the other! It’s insane! Hate ‘em.
I have driven round points in France. The rules can differ as to who yields to whom depending on the roundpoint. On the Arc de Triomphe in Paris roundpoint the traffic on the circle yields to the traffic entering the circle. Most smaller ones require the oncoming to yield to the traffic already there. And no lanes on the Arc de Triomphe....8 lanes with no lanes markings. Lots of horns...
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