02-19-2008 Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

Drivers going in circles - and that's good / Roundabouts slow traflic, reduce injury accide... Page I of 3 SFc:iate.com Drivers going in circles - and that's good Roundabouts slow traffic, reduce injury accidents, save gas Richard Richtmyer, Associated Press Sunday, January 20, 2008 (01-20) 04:00 PST Albany, N.Y. -- New York drivers are increasingly finding themselves going in circles, and it's not because they're lost. Following a national trend, state transportation planners are actively turning right-angle intersections into roundabouts, derided by many but proven in a national study to be safer than some intersections with stop signs or traffic signals. Traffic circles have long been part of New York roadways, but modern roundabouts are distinctly different. Today's roundabouts are much smaller than older traffic circles - about 100 to 200 feet in diameter instead of 400 to 600 feet - and they're designed with narrow lanes that force drivers to slow down. Transportation planners say the newer design - which originated in Europe and found its way to the United States around 1990 - results in improved traffic flow and fewer accidents. "The NO.1 reason we're doing these is safety," said Howard McCulloch, a traffic engineer with the New York State Department of Transportation who specializes in roundabouts. At intersections with stop signs or traffic lights, the most common - and serious - accidents are right-angle, left-turn or head-on collisions that can be severe because vehicles may be moving fast. Roundabouts virtually eliminate those types of crashes because vehicles all travel in the same direction. Roundabouts also tend to keep cars moving steadily in all directions. That cuts down on fuel- wasting stop-and-go traffic and reduces air pollution, giving planners another reason to use them, said Wade Scarbrough, a roundabout specialist with Kittelson & Associates, a transportation engineering and consulting firm in Portland, Ore. "There are times when there's such a huge amount of traffic that they get backed up, but for the most part, it's a steady flow," Scarbrough said. The Federal Highway Administration - which oversees federal money spent on highway construction and maintenance - estimates 150 to 250 roundabouts are being built each year and supports a goal to raise that to roughly 1,000 per year, said Doug Hecox, an agency spokesman. "We do recognize this as a very valuable tool," Hecox said. "In many circumstances, they're a safer http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/0 I /20/MNG6UFKF7.DTL&type... 1/31/2008