CrankyOne

:-)

Grew up in the south, lived in Europe, now a yankee part of the year. I still ask people if they'd like a 'coke' (vs pop or soda), I frequently put things in the boot of my car, and more than a few times I've used football incorrectly—on both sides of the Atlantic. I've also been surprised when I've ordered a 'coffee' in the US and been served American coffee rather than the espresso I'd get everywhere else in the world. I'm generally pretty messed up. And couldn't be happier. :-)

Harhir

Being from Europe and now living in Texas I vote for roundabouts. Why?
- Here in Plano the city moved from induction sensors to camera sensors on the traffic. If you don't have a strong light you can shine at that camera it will NOT detect a cyclist. And not all lights have cross walks with push buttons. Or the buttons are very inconveniently located for cyclists.
- Roundabouts slow down the traffic and there is less chance a driver coming the other way will cut you off.

pesty

I'm 100% with you on this. I live on the Tarrant County side of DFW airport and it's very hit or miss on what type of sensors, and even more so on if you can actually get the induction sensors to pick you up (and I have an aluminum frame and alloy wheels). Southlake and Colleyville made a big push for roundabouts and I love them. Wish more cities would follow suit.

CliffordK

I believe one of the big benefits of a roundabout is that they are more effective in handling the intersection of more than 4 (2x2) streets entering/exiting. So, create an intersection for 5 or 6, or more, and the roundabout does well. It also shines if there are a lot of vehicles that are turning vs mostly going straight through. Or a mix of straight and turning.

I'm a little skeptical about those chains of roundabouts, but I'm not sure roundabouts and lights mix well. Looking at the proposed triple roundabout, perhaps one could think of it as a really huge roundabout that is just made to be skinny in the middle, although I suppose you still have the extra cross traffic.

We have a two lane roundabout that I encounter periodically. It has two choices for bicycles. Either riding on the street, or riding on the sidewalks, and activating blinking lights for crossing. I feel better riding on the street.

I have never had issues on the roundabout with straight-through riding, or right turns. A left turn takes a little more attention.

Our roundabout also has a median strip bike lane which is poorly designed for getting into and out of the roundabout.

CliffordK

I think we are a point where traffic engineers need to put more emphasis in designing for multi-use, which means considering bicycles as part of the road design.

The safest way for a bicycle to go through a roundabout is to add tunnels and bridges for the bikes.


Ok, that first one may have lights for the cars




For a cloverleaf freeway interchange with flyovers as posted by the OP, there may be some natural elevation changes that could be easily utilized.

The OP's map also shows a bunch of large lakes which for many reasons is a natural place to connect off-road bicycle trails

ZIPP2001

They are still working on the two in the video, and there are two more that popped up on my regular loop. The last I heard they have more planned for next year.