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> We love roundabouts Context for our American friends. This isn't specific to London. Everywhere I've lived in Europe is more roundabout-heavy than the USA. B

> We love roundabouts Context for our American friends. This isn't specific to London. Everywhere I've lived in Europe is more roundabout-heavy than the USA. Because, you know, they're objectively superior ;-)

PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
They are also spreading in the USA. New Jersey has had them for quite a long time, and is building more. I've been surprised to see them as an apparent new default for new intersections in central Wisconsin where my wife's family is from. There are even some new ones being added around Santa Fe where I live.
- coyotespike 4y ago
  Yes, I agree both that they are objectively superior and that happily they are spreading! At first I would see people treat them like a slight curve in the road and blow through them, but we seem to have figured them out now
  - kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
    The ones in Indianapolis suck because heavy traffic flows can blow through as a train, completely blocking entry from other directions.
- gorgoiler 4y ago
  Any SF-based Adobe employee will attest to the novelty of working next to The City’s only rotary.
eropple 4y ago
New England sits back smugly with our rotaries and judges you all. Politely--but we do.
throwaway1777 4y ago
They are increasingly common in new developments in the US, but no one is spending money to retrofit old intersections (rightly so I think)
- ganjatech 4y ago
  No one except beautiful Portland, Maine. And probably loads of other towns in New England.
- macintux 4y ago
  Carmel, Indiana has been retrofitting extensively.
- numtel 4y ago
  LA and southern California could use some roundabouts. There's so many places with stop lights almost stacked on each other.
- michaelcampbell 4y ago
  The ~dozen or so roundabouts near where I live (northern suburb of Atlanta, Georgia) have all been 4-way stop retrofits. And all in the last 10 years or so.
classichasclass 4y ago
Just got a new one near our house. Greater Los Angeles. My wife, an Aussie, is delighted.
tedd4u 4y ago
Many of the ones popping up in San Francisco at 4-way intersections RETAIN four stop signs ... <facepalm>
- xvedejas 4y ago
  The ones I've seen are really more of a half-hearted traffic-calming measure than proper roundabouts. The intersections I can think of, they're in residential neighborhoods and there's just some new island in the middle of a four-way stop. It might be impossible to widen these into proper roundabouts due to the houses up to the property lines?
- MattJ100 4y ago
  Placing new STOP signs in the UK required written permission from the secretary of state until some years ago. They're still quite uncommon here, typically reserved for more risky junctions. We most commonly use the "Give Way" sign at junctions instead, indicating that other traffic has priority.
bigmattystyles 4y ago
My French relatives are always impressed with the (mostly) civil behavior at 4 way stop signs in California and claim they would never work in France. It’s funny to me because every time they visit, they comment on them. I left France too young to know if they are right though.
- post-it 4y ago
  Europe is definitely heavier on environmental design to enforce behaviours rather than signs, as nobody will obey a sign if they can get away with it.
  - LarryMullins 4y ago
    I think most people obey 4-way stop-sign intersections because they're afraid of getting T-boned by another car, not because they obey signs for the sake of obeying signs. People ignore signs when they can get away with it, but a 4-way stop-sign intersection is not such a case to anybody but the suicidally reckless.
- mytailorisrich 4y ago
  How do they work in California? I think what your relatives mean is that if everyone has a stop then it'll be messy because everyone will try to go first after they have stopped... Here in the UK they have installed 2 stops and 2 give ways at a nearby crossing and it's already quite dangerous because no-one is sure what to do: those with give-ways think they should go before those with stops, those with stops think they should go first if they arrived first... honking ensues very often. If you're lucky it ends in a very British "you go first, no you go first" contest, which is not very practical, either.
  - bigmattystyles 4y ago
    you stop and go in the order you arrived to the stop line.
    - 4y ago
antisthenes 4y ago
>objectively superior* *Given that the roundabout is fed by single-lane streets with low traffic and excellent visibility and no stop signs before entry, which would otherwise negate the advantage of quicker entry.
- LarryMullins 4y ago
  Single-lane roundabouts aren't very uncommon in America. Maybe not as common as in the UK, but they're definitely around and virtually every driver in America should be familiar with them. There will always be a few fools who don't grok them, but the same can be said for any aspect of driving. I think when Americans say they're baffled by UK roundabouts, they're almost always talking about the huge multi-lane roundabouts. Those, to me, are nightmare fuel.
  - ChainOfFools 4y ago
    not just multi lane, multi-roundabout multi-lane roundabouts, some with patial or alternating clock rotation patterns, exist there as well. famously: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_%28Swindon%29?wprov=sfla1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_%28Swindon%29...
andrepd 4y ago
They do take a huge amount of space, unfortunately.

PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago

They are also spreading in the USA. New Jersey has had them for quite a long time, and is building more. I've been surprised to see them as an apparent new default for new intersections in central Wisconsin where my wife's family is from. There are even some new ones being added around Santa Fe where I live.

coyotespike 4y ago
Yes, I agree both that they are objectively superior and that happily they are spreading! At first I would see people treat them like a slight curve in the road and blow through them, but we seem to have figured them out now
- kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
  The ones in Indianapolis suck because heavy traffic flows can blow through as a train, completely blocking entry from other directions.
gorgoiler 4y ago
Any SF-based Adobe employee will attest to the novelty of working next to The City’s only rotary.

eropple 4y ago

New England sits back smugly with our rotaries and judges you all. Politely--but we do.

throwaway1777 4y ago

They are increasingly common in new developments in the US, but no one is spending money to retrofit old intersections (rightly so I think)

ganjatech 4y ago
No one except beautiful Portland, Maine. And probably loads of other towns in New England.
macintux 4y ago
Carmel, Indiana has been retrofitting extensively.
numtel 4y ago
LA and southern California could use some roundabouts. There's so many places with stop lights almost stacked on each other.
michaelcampbell 4y ago
The ~dozen or so roundabouts near where I live (northern suburb of Atlanta, Georgia) have all been 4-way stop retrofits. And all in the last 10 years or so.

classichasclass 4y ago

Just got a new one near our house. Greater Los Angeles. My wife, an Aussie, is delighted.

tedd4u 4y ago

Many of the ones popping up in San Francisco at 4-way intersections RETAIN four stop signs ... <facepalm>

xvedejas 4y ago
The ones I've seen are really more of a half-hearted traffic-calming measure than proper roundabouts. The intersections I can think of, they're in residential neighborhoods and there's just some new island in the middle of a four-way stop. It might be impossible to widen these into proper roundabouts due to the houses up to the property lines?
MattJ100 4y ago
Placing new STOP signs in the UK required written permission from the secretary of state until some years ago. They're still quite uncommon here, typically reserved for more risky junctions. We most commonly use the "Give Way" sign at junctions instead, indicating that other traffic has priority.

bigmattystyles 4y ago

My French relatives are always impressed with the (mostly) civil behavior at 4 way stop signs in California and claim they would never work in France. It’s funny to me because every time they visit, they comment on them. I left France too young to know if they are right though.

post-it 4y ago
Europe is definitely heavier on environmental design to enforce behaviours rather than signs, as nobody will obey a sign if they can get away with it.
- LarryMullins 4y ago
  I think most people obey 4-way stop-sign intersections because they're afraid of getting T-boned by another car, not because they obey signs for the sake of obeying signs. People ignore signs when they can get away with it, but a 4-way stop-sign intersection is not such a case to anybody but the suicidally reckless.
mytailorisrich 4y ago
How do they work in California? I think what your relatives mean is that if everyone has a stop then it'll be messy because everyone will try to go first after they have stopped... Here in the UK they have installed 2 stops and 2 give ways at a nearby crossing and it's already quite dangerous because no-one is sure what to do: those with give-ways think they should go before those with stops, those with stops think they should go first if they arrived first... honking ensues very often. If you're lucky it ends in a very British "you go first, no you go first" contest, which is not very practical, either.
- bigmattystyles 4y ago
  you stop and go in the order you arrived to the stop line.
  - 4y ago

antisthenes 4y ago

>objectively superior* *Given that the roundabout is fed by single-lane streets with low traffic and excellent visibility and no stop signs before entry, which would otherwise negate the advantage of quicker entry.

LarryMullins 4y ago
Single-lane roundabouts aren't very uncommon in America. Maybe not as common as in the UK, but they're definitely around and virtually every driver in America should be familiar with them. There will always be a few fools who don't grok them, but the same can be said for any aspect of driving. I think when Americans say they're baffled by UK roundabouts, they're almost always talking about the huge multi-lane roundabouts. Those, to me, are nightmare fuel.
- ChainOfFools 4y ago
  not just multi lane, multi-roundabout multi-lane roundabouts, some with patial or alternating clock rotation patterns, exist there as well. famously: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_%28Swindon%29?wprov=sfla1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_%28Swindon%29...

andrepd 4y ago

They do take a huge amount of space, unfortunately.