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> As a pedestrian, I love it because I don't have to wait for a walk signal... I just cross, and entering traffic is obligated to yield to me. Not only enterin

> As a pedestrian, I love it because I don't have to wait for a walk signal... I just cross, and entering traffic is obligated to yield to me. Not only entering traffic, also traffic leaving the roundabout. Which means this only works for low traffic intersections, since a single a busy pedestrian crossing can dead-lock the entire roundabout in all directions. My city has a slight modification of this: the pedestrian crossings are about 3 car lengths away from the roundabout. This means crossing the road takes slightly longer for pedestrians here, but the round about has a "buffer" of three cars that can wait for pedestrians before the round-about starts locking up. But really, for busy roundabouts, pedestrian overpasses are the only sane choice. Ugly as hell to look at, but easily more comfortable than underpasses.

guitarbill 3y ago
> But really, for busy roundabouts, pedestrian overpasses are the only sane choice. Ugly as hell to look at, but easily more comfortable than underpasses. They're usually not accessible, or very expensive to do so. Also, why should the infrastructure be vehicle-focussed like you describe? There's no reason other than people are so used to it.
ajuc 3y ago
Overpasses suck for pedestrians almost as much as underpasses. They create obstacles for older people, handicapped, bicycles, people with kids, etc. They split cities into separate "regions" that feel "far away" mentally which increases traffic. They create opportunities for problematic behaviour like vandalism and crime (because they block vision). If cars create problems with traffic - cars should be paying the price of solving these problems - so it should be cars that have to drive over/under. Let pedestrians stay on the street level. This is how it should be solved (example from my city, I walk there almost daily): https://maps.app.goo.gl/BFBK6B6Q6LULQtSa6 https://maps.app.goo.gl/BFBK6B6Q6LULQtSa6 There's a fast road for transit on the overpass, under that there's a slower crossing with zebra and bike path. No problem for pedestrians and bikes.
kdmccormick 3y ago
It does get close to deadlocking traffic at rush hour. Wait time for cars to enter is like 5 minutes at 6pm. And you know, I'm OK with that. There are plenty of other ways to get around my city, so if you want to do it in your own personal metal box at the busiest time of the day, then you can wait 5 extra minutes. Pedestrian overpasses would look butt ugly and way exceed the city's budget for this intersection.

guitarbill 3y ago

> But really, for busy roundabouts, pedestrian overpasses are the only sane choice. Ugly as hell to look at, but easily more comfortable than underpasses. They're usually not accessible, or very expensive to do so. Also, why should the infrastructure be vehicle-focussed like you describe? There's no reason other than people are so used to it.

ajuc 3y ago

Overpasses suck for pedestrians almost as much as underpasses. They create obstacles for older people, handicapped, bicycles, people with kids, etc. They split cities into separate "regions" that feel "far away" mentally which increases traffic. They create opportunities for problematic behaviour like vandalism and crime (because they block vision). If cars create problems with traffic - cars should be paying the price of solving these problems - so it should be cars that have to drive over/under. Let pedestrians stay on the street level. This is how it should be solved (example from my city, I walk there almost daily): https://maps.app.goo.gl/BFBK6B6Q6LULQtSa6 https://maps.app.goo.gl/BFBK6B6Q6LULQtSa6 There's a fast road for transit on the overpass, under that there's a slower crossing with zebra and bike path. No problem for pedestrians and bikes.

kdmccormick 3y ago

It does get close to deadlocking traffic at rush hour. Wait time for cars to enter is like 5 minutes at 6pm. And you know, I'm OK with that. There are plenty of other ways to get around my city, so if you want to do it in your own personal metal box at the busiest time of the day, then you can wait 5 extra minutes. Pedestrian overpasses would look butt ugly and way exceed the city's budget for this intersection.