3 ms·

Roundabouts are great (and common where I live), but a downside is they can be difficult for pedestrians to cross. You need crossings that are set back from the

Roundabouts are great (and common where I live), but a downside is they can be difficult for pedestrians to cross. You need crossings that are set back from the exits, but this also makes it a longer path for the pedestrian.

timc3 3y ago
Tunnels and bridges are used in the UK. And those tunnels are horrible.
cluoma 3y ago
This is certainly an issue. There is a roundabout on my morning commute that regularly has pedestrians crossing inside the roundabout (alongside cars on the outside) because that's the most direct route.
swatcoder 3y ago
Yes, they're absolutely horrid for pedestrians. Drivers anticipating their merge into roundabout are often too distracted to notice pedestrians intending to cross, and any pedestrian crossing the outflow of a roundabout can trigger a traffic backup that interferes with the flow of the circle itself and surprise drivers who expect it to stay moving. They have their benefits in some intersections, but they also have tradeoffs that make them very poor for others.
- kieranmaine 3y ago
  I disagree. As a pedestrian, I only have to worry about cars coming from 2 directions (on to/off the roundabout) instead of 4 at an intersection. I'm confused by your comment that drivers merging into a roundabout are too distracted. As a driver merging into a roundabout I find I have far less cognitive load. I only have to look for pedestrians crossing in front of me and cars coming from the left. When coming off the roundabout I only have to check for pedestrians crossing the exit I want to take. At an intersection, all these checks are mashed together into. I have to keep track of all the cars at the intersection plus the pedestrians that may be crossing in front of me and the exit I want to take.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    It depends on the roundabout. A low traffic, single-lane roundabout is pretty straightforward. There are also heavy traffic two-lane roundabouts in my area. One is pretty much impossible for a pedestrian to traverse. (Not that it's in a pedestrianized area anyway.) The other two can only be traversed at relatively nearby traffic lights.
    - gnicholas 3y ago
      I see near-accidents all the time, when a driver is stopped at the entrance to a roundabout, looking left at the cars, and then a pedestrian (or more likely, a cyclist/escooter rider) comes from the right. The driver starts going when there's a clearing in the cars, before realizing that there's someone approaching from the right (I'm in the US, so cars are approaching from the left).
  - swatcoder 3y ago
    With the exception of decorative 1-lane roundabouts in sleepy residential neighborhoods, all the roundabouts I encounter in Central and Southern California are 2-3 lane circles with various lane->exit mappings, some of which overlap and some of which are exclusive. Drivers coming into them, who want to actually benefit from the roundabout and not just turn it into an awkward stop sign, are responsible for reversing the exit to lane mapping, then timing their approach to the intersection with an opening that will let them reach to their lane while maintaining a flow. If they can't manage to do that, of course they're supposed to stop and yield until an appropriate opening becomes available. Inevitably, the designated pedestrian crosswalk is some 5-10+ feet prior to where the car would have to stop if it does need to yield while awaiting an opening. Compared to a signaled intersection or a 2/4-way stop, where the pedestrian crossing coincides with a natural traffic stop, this basically means that approximately zero cars actually stop for pedestrians. Some are too busy to notice and others just don't want to have to deal with a stop and so ignore their responsibility. I assume you must live somewhere else, where roundabouts are smaller and play some different role than here.
    - kieranmaine 3y ago
- Tade0 3y ago
  I can't agree. For one, both entering and leaving the roundabout happens at low speeds, so there's very little chance of getting hit at high speed. Second, the drivers are necessarily doing turns, so their blind spots move around quickly, which makes it easier to scan the area for pedestrians.
- InSteady 3y ago
  >Drivers anticipating their merge into roundabout are often too distracted to notice pedestrians intending to cross This is so true that it happens constantly at a roundabout in my neighborhood that has stop signs and white stripes at the pedestrian crossing, right before the merge. Even people in the right turn only lane do it.
andrepd 3y ago
Yeah but who cares about pedestrians, or bikes, or anything other than 2-ton metal boxes carrying 1 person at a time. Give me 3 lane roundabouts onto 6-lane stroads please baby!

timc3 3y ago

Tunnels and bridges are used in the UK. And those tunnels are horrible.

cluoma 3y ago

This is certainly an issue. There is a roundabout on my morning commute that regularly has pedestrians crossing inside the roundabout (alongside cars on the outside) because that's the most direct route.

swatcoder 3y ago

Yes, they're absolutely horrid for pedestrians. Drivers anticipating their merge into roundabout are often too distracted to notice pedestrians intending to cross, and any pedestrian crossing the outflow of a roundabout can trigger a traffic backup that interferes with the flow of the circle itself and surprise drivers who expect it to stay moving. They have their benefits in some intersections, but they also have tradeoffs that make them very poor for others.

kieranmaine 3y ago
I disagree. As a pedestrian, I only have to worry about cars coming from 2 directions (on to/off the roundabout) instead of 4 at an intersection. I'm confused by your comment that drivers merging into a roundabout are too distracted. As a driver merging into a roundabout I find I have far less cognitive load. I only have to look for pedestrians crossing in front of me and cars coming from the left. When coming off the roundabout I only have to check for pedestrians crossing the exit I want to take. At an intersection, all these checks are mashed together into. I have to keep track of all the cars at the intersection plus the pedestrians that may be crossing in front of me and the exit I want to take.
- ghaff 3y ago
  It depends on the roundabout. A low traffic, single-lane roundabout is pretty straightforward. There are also heavy traffic two-lane roundabouts in my area. One is pretty much impossible for a pedestrian to traverse. (Not that it's in a pedestrianized area anyway.) The other two can only be traversed at relatively nearby traffic lights.
  - gnicholas 3y ago
    I see near-accidents all the time, when a driver is stopped at the entrance to a roundabout, looking left at the cars, and then a pedestrian (or more likely, a cyclist/escooter rider) comes from the right. The driver starts going when there's a clearing in the cars, before realizing that there's someone approaching from the right (I'm in the US, so cars are approaching from the left).
- swatcoder 3y ago
  With the exception of decorative 1-lane roundabouts in sleepy residential neighborhoods, all the roundabouts I encounter in Central and Southern California are 2-3 lane circles with various lane->exit mappings, some of which overlap and some of which are exclusive. Drivers coming into them, who want to actually benefit from the roundabout and not just turn it into an awkward stop sign, are responsible for reversing the exit to lane mapping, then timing their approach to the intersection with an opening that will let them reach to their lane while maintaining a flow. If they can't manage to do that, of course they're supposed to stop and yield until an appropriate opening becomes available. Inevitably, the designated pedestrian crosswalk is some 5-10+ feet prior to where the car would have to stop if it does need to yield while awaiting an opening. Compared to a signaled intersection or a 2/4-way stop, where the pedestrian crossing coincides with a natural traffic stop, this basically means that approximately zero cars actually stop for pedestrians. Some are too busy to notice and others just don't want to have to deal with a stop and so ignore their responsibility. I assume you must live somewhere else, where roundabouts are smaller and play some different role than here.
  - kieranmaine 3y ago
Tade0 3y ago
I can't agree. For one, both entering and leaving the roundabout happens at low speeds, so there's very little chance of getting hit at high speed. Second, the drivers are necessarily doing turns, so their blind spots move around quickly, which makes it easier to scan the area for pedestrians.
InSteady 3y ago
>Drivers anticipating their merge into roundabout are often too distracted to notice pedestrians intending to cross This is so true that it happens constantly at a roundabout in my neighborhood that has stop signs and white stripes at the pedestrian crossing, right before the merge. Even people in the right turn only lane do it.

andrepd 3y ago

Yeah but who cares about pedestrians, or bikes, or anything other than 2-ton metal boxes carrying 1 person at a time. Give me 3 lane roundabouts onto 6-lane stroads please baby!