markhr

Interesting stuff.

https://labs.timesonline.co.uk/blog/2...ing-accidents/

As expected the mini round-about with the contraflow cycle lane entering at 90 degrees to the flow of traffic is a cluster of red spots.

What the hell do traffic planners do at university?

-=(8)=-

There is a school of thought in the USA that roundabouts are the
final word in smooth traffic flow, even supported by some bicycle
people in an advocacy group I was part of. In my 50 years, many
states of riding, I have never seen one that wasnt highly problematic.
They might be somewhere, I just have yet to see one.

genec

Uh, the roundabout in question above has a contra flow bike lane... not the usual proper setup.

And are you talking roundabout or traffic circle? Yeah, there is a difference... traffic is calmed through a roundabout.

David13

My understanding is that traffic circles have a very high accident rate. What 'roundabouts' are and how they differ from circles, I don't know, they may be only a Great Britain thing.
But there's that word again. Traffic 'calming'. I'm an old old man and I have never seen that anyplace. Here in the usa we have a thing called 'road rage' and it is by far the rule, not the exception. Here in Los Angeles you couldn't 'calm' these drivers with tranquilizer dart guns.
So it's like combat, like the gladiator arena, where you take your life in your hands (or theirs) when you go out on a bicycle or motorcycle, or even car, like I do.
Soccer moms taking the kids to soccer practice at 60 to 80 mph on city streets, of course in a monster sport ute. And running late. Not real calm.
University I studied female anatomy, female psychology, co-eds, and I got a good eduction, too.
But I'm not a traffic planner.
dc

genec

David, go read the book "Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)" by Tom Vanderbilt. It is probably in your local library. You spent time in college, so this will be a very easy read. It explains traffic, motorists, traffic calming and a host of other ideas and observations.

I too live in So Cal... and yeah, I see a lot of aggressive driving.

And yeah, there isn't much traffic calming in So Cal... here we tend to see "pave it and they will come..." However, some traffic engineers are being enlightened.

cudak888 

Sleep in class, because budget cuts forced the college to tear down the dorms.

-Kurt

Sturmcrow

For any who might care, IIRC, a roundabout has multiple lanes that one is supposed to merge into and out of at their exit without stopping. A traffic circle is more like a 4 way stop except that you don't have to stop unless a car is coming at you. I other words, I suppose it's more like a 4 way yield.

So: Roundabout = No stopping (in theory); Traffic circle = yield to vehicles already in the circle.

markhr

Enough semantics already

Roundabout just means a circle around which cars have to drive. These can be (my apologies for not using precise terminology):
mini - a spot of paint at a junction
regular - some sort of large island
maxi - circular but with 2 or 3 lanes of traffic around it
gyratory - multiple lanes around an irregular shaped island

David13

genec
Thanks for the tip on that book. 3 libraries have it here (city, county and Torrance) and so I'll get it on my list for the next few weeks.
However, "Would you be surprised that road rage can be good for society?, is the quote they all advert the book with. ??? I'll try to read the book but if that is the theme of the book, I may have book rage and shred the book in the process.
San Diego imho is about 30 to 40% more civilized and 'calm' vs Los Angeles. Fer instence, those SD pedicabs would probably all be killed within a few weeks here.
I know some of the drivers here. Not much could calm them. Some of them are already on tranquilizers and it ain't werkin.
dc

SlimAgainSoon

Have a traffic circle in my neighborhood. Nothing wrong with it -- moves traffic much faster than stop signs, which it replaced, and has not caused chaos or mayhem or tragedy.

Some drivers puzzled by it ... most adapt quickly.