I Hate Roundabouts, But...

[bwframe]

We have given in to allow accidents to now be a part of everyday driving. The convenience to folks that have to drive these round-a-crashes everyday is obvious, the same as the danger to the rest that are naive to the specific nuances of every individual one.

It'd be interesting to see whether insurance companies or body shops have benefited more from this innovative European design?

[JettaKnight]

Cool. That's how I go visit friends that are further west and off of Brand.

We went to the church - Dublin Baptist - near there. Seemed like a good place.

I cross the river at Emerald Porkway

Is that a typo, or my new favorite nickname there?



"The Porkway over the Skee-oh-toh river..."

[AngryRooster]

There's one close to where live, it's in Greenville, OH. It's got a huge fountain in the middle and has been there forever. Even though it's a small town it's a real PITA during certain times of the day. If you want to get across then you don't stop unless you're going to hit someone. Once you stop you are screwed. It's on the main route through town and that road leads to the industrial park. Most of the factories let out around the same time. If you stop before entering the circle then the next half mile of cars entering from the side will just keep flowing through on each others bumper like water.

I hate the Fing thing. I'm sorry, but if I'm sitting at the entrance of the circle and had to stop because of a pedestrian then I still believe that I have the right of way to enter the circle before the car that's still 1500 feet down the road behind another 30 cars and still has a couple stop signs to go through. These people don't see it that way though. A lot of times it's actually quicker to go through the 2 staggered stop lights (gotta have them staggered so we can view the wonders of the town) a block away.

The roads that approach the circle are one lane in and one lane out, however the circle itself is 2 lanes wide, and they aren't marked. That makes it so much fun when someone from out of town drives through. They have no idea and are weaving across both lanes. As soon as the factory workers enter the circle they spread out making it impossible to even enter during certain times of the day.

[BugI02]

We went to the church - Dublin Baptist - near there. Seemed like a good place.



Is that a typo, or my new favorite nickname there?



"The Porkway over the Skee-oh-toh river..."

Not a typo, you can irritate the locals by calling it that

[JettaKnight]

Oh, that one looks bad - no lane markers (it's certainly wide enough for two) and no dedicated right hand cut (don't know the technical name)

EDIT:
Just looking at it top down, there's plenty of room for efficiency improvement at the sacrifice of beauty.

[Kutnupe14]

Bill Murray goes the "American way" around the circle and confused the bobbies in pursuit.

I love that movie! It's a gem a lot of people don't know about.

[AngryRooster]

Oh, that one looks bad - no lane markers (it's certainly wide enough for two) and no dedicated right hand cut (don't know the technical name)

EDIT:
Just looking at it top down, there's plenty of room for efficiency improvement at the sacrifice of beauty.

I'm 49 and this thing has been around my entire life. I remember as a grade school kid going around it with my parents. It was designed for beauty and they didn't care about efficiency at all. It was more about the fountain than anything else. Also note the corners of the overhead view and how you can actually "bypass" the circle by cutting through the post office and other parking lots. Locals do that as well when they're in a hurry and don't want to screw with the circle. They will fly through those without slowing down so they can turn right.

This is also the start of downtown area so there are tons of people walking and shopping. The week Pokemon Go was released there were 300+ people walking that area glued to their phones in a 5 block area.

[yeahbaby]

For you Porter county folks. They started construction for a new roundabout at the intersection of Silhavy and LaPorter in Valpo. The first few months when that opens up should be interesting.

[JettaKnight]

I love that movie! It's a gem a lot of people don't know about.

I'm pretty sure that you, I, and my eight year old nephew are its only fans - which I don't understand because it's hilarious and filled with quotable lines.

[Tactically Fat]

Roundabouts, in general, are great. They improve efficiency of movement and therefore fuel efficiency. They also cut down on the number of severe accidents. The number of minor accidents goes up, however.

Where I think this country gets roundabouts wrong is that they make them too big. They are too many lanes wide. If you make them narrower (and, thereby lowering the already lower speeds) then you won't have folks crossing 3+ lanes to get from the inside to the outside for their exit.

The big new one in Greenwood is just too big. Too many lanes. Too many people not familiar enough with it that cause too many lane cutting maneuvers.