Roads: Roundabouts

[muller877]

I'm starting to get annoyed with the lack of signalling in a roundaout.. Because of the 407 extension construction I have been taking a different route to work most mornings and it involves going through a roundabout.. I have yet to see someone actually signal their exit. (Which is a pain in the ass when you are trying to enter the roundabout and don't know whether this person is going to exit or continue past you)

Before we can convince the city to build more roundabouts, we first have to convince them that roundabouts do not need stop signs. (in the West there is one on Baby Point Rd and plenty others in the city)

But looking at some of the drivers behaviours in the roundabouts it makes sense. I went through 2 of them on the weekend (1 with and 1 without stop signs) and noticed the same behaviour. The first one had a driver going the "fast" left (and then a pedestrian walking straight across the roundabout instead of going across the clearly marked cross walk).

The second had 2 groups of cyclists doing the same thing (about 6 bikes in total). Luckily I was quick enough for the second one...I was turning right (and was looking left to make sure there were no vehicles in the roundabout with the right of way). Had to slam on my brakes to avoid the collision since the bikes were going the wrong way. But of course I got the finger, yelled at, etc....unfortunately typical bike behaviour that they do not have to follow the rules of the road and its never their fault.

 

[the lemur]

I just got back from Europe and am now even more of a believer in roundabouts than before. They largely eliminate tailbacks at intersections and once you get the hang of pausing to see if there is anyone in the roundabout (who thereby has the right of way over you), going through them is pretty easy. They also are a better way of making a U-turn if you miss a turn.

 

[Admiral Beez]

^Not to mention our terrible lane discipline, blocking bike lanes, etc. It doesn't help that the police are often the worst offenders.

I've driven in these in the UK, where lane discipline and signalling are essentual.

 

[innsertnamehere]

new roundabout being built in northern york region:

new roundabout finished this year east of Stouffville at York - Durham line and Pickering Concession 9, I think I was actually one of the first people to drive on this, I went through it at 2am one night and there were a bunch of construction workers and a couple of cops there, with them moving pylons around.

 

[howl]

Roundabouts were conceived and designed to keep traffic moving efficiently with minimal stops. At the intersection of two major rural roads is a good place for them. Where they don't belong is in the middle of suburban subdivisions or city neighbourhoods. By keeping the traffic moving you are making it more difficult for other users to get through the intersection. The City of London (UK) has removed most of the roundabouts within it's congestion zone in order to make that part of the City more bike and pedestrian friendly.

 

[nfitz]

Roundabouts were conceived and designed to keep traffic moving efficiently with minimal stops. At the intersection of two major rural roads is a good place for them. Where they don't belong is in the middle of suburban subdivisions or city neighbourhoods. By keeping the traffic moving you are making it more difficult for other users to get through the intersection. The City of London (UK) has removed most of the roundabouts within it's congestion zone in order to make that part of the City more bike and pedestrian friendly.

Removing them in core urban areas like downtown London is one thing. London is still building them in their suburbs though.

 

[wopchop]

I was up in Collingwood recently after a long absence, noticed that they built two roundabouts on Highway 26 at Poplar Sideroad & Mosley St.

Also was surprised by the amount of residential construction up there.

 

[the lemur]

Roundabouts were conceived and designed to keep traffic moving efficiently with minimal stops. At the intersection of two major rural roads is a good place for them. Where they don't belong is in the middle of suburban subdivisions or city neighbourhoods. By keeping the traffic moving you are making it more difficult for other users to get through the intersection. The City of London (UK) has removed most of the roundabouts within it's congestion zone in order to make that part of the City more bike and pedestrian friendly.

That's less about motor vehicle congestion, then, and more about making it easier for pedestrians to cross and bikes to get through intersections. This one is right at the edge of the congestion zone (meaning that drivers may inadvertently enter the zone) and is a notoriously unsafe roundabout for cyclists, but there don't seem to be plans to remove it: http://goo.gl/maps/pQwTq

 

[MisterF]

That's less about motor vehicle congestion, then, and more about making it easier for pedestrians to cross and bikes to get through intersections. This one is right at the edge of the congestion zone (meaning that drivers may inadvertently enter the zone) and is a notoriously unsafe roundabout for cyclists, but there don't seem to be plans to remove it: http://goo.gl/maps/pQwTq

That's not a roundabout.

 

[nfitz]

That's not a roundabout.

And yet it has a Wikipedia page called Old Street Roundabout

 

[the lemur]

And yet it has a Wikipedia page called Old Street Roundabout

Precisely. If it's not a roundabout I'd like to know what it is then. You can call it a traffic circle or a 'modern roundabout' or even rotary if you want but it's definitely a roundabout. I doubt the drivers on it would call it anything else, even if it's not actually round.

 

[MisterF]

^It's more a series of signalized intersections than anything else.

And yet it has a Wikipedia page called Old Street Roundabout

Yes, and prairie dogs aren’t dogs and komodo dragons aren’t dragons. Lots of things have misleading names. Modern roundabouts were developed in the 60s and have flared entrances, generally no traffic signals, and vehicles in the circle have the right of way. Older round junctions are generally called traffic circles or rotaries and were a dog’s breakfast of designs and standards. The only thing they have in common with roundabouts is their shape. Most of the time when people refer to chaotic circular intersections to oppose roundabouts, they’re not talking about roundabouts at all, at least not in the modern sense.

 

[muller877]

^It's more a series of signalized intersections than anything else.

.

Throughout the UK there are plenty of these types of roundabouts. And yes, I lived in the UK and UK residents call them roundabouts.

The lights are timed perfectly and these are actually very efficient at moving cars. Basically they are roundabouts that are too busy for no signals and on steroids. Quite often there are subways/tunnels for pedestrians & bikes (and a quaint little park in the middle). Made out of pre-fab material...think of a huge culvert under the road. Very cheap to build these tunnels and seperates the modes of transit.

 

[mpd618]

Roundabouts were conceived and designed to keep traffic moving efficiently with minimal stops. At the intersection of two major rural roads is a good place for them. Where they don't belong is in the middle of suburban subdivisions or city neighbourhoods. By keeping the traffic moving you are making it more difficult for other users to get through the intersection. The City of London (UK) has removed most of the roundabouts within it's congestion zone in order to make that part of the City more bike and pedestrian friendly.

You can make urban roundabouts, they just need to have a smaller radius and narrower lanes. Here's an example that I think is pretty nice from Hamburg, NY. And here's a suburban subdivision roundabout in Waterloo.

 

[nfitz]

^It's more a series of signalized intersections than anything else.

It's a roundabout. At least when speaking English. Traffic signals have been retrofitted on many English roundabouts that are over-capacity.

There's certainly a lot of discussion about getting rid of it http://hackneycitizen.co.uk/2014/06/10/old-street-roundabout-to-be-scrapped/ but it's always called a roundabout.

Even by the government - www.tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/old-street-roundabout