4 ms·

I fail to see how this helps over more traditional designs. Not to mention tight roundabouts always have horrible curbs that trucks have to smash into to try an

I fail to see how this helps over more traditional designs. Not to mention tight roundabouts always have horrible curbs that trucks have to smash into to try and jump over to make the turns, and they are never gentle bumps, they are always tire and curb damaging trash, especially for heavy loads which are primarily the vehicles that need to jump the curbs. All the roundabouts around me I wish they would just get rid of, I can navigate them just fine, but they are way too small, over congested, and dangerous because the 5 seconds you have to read the signs as you approach to know whats going on is too much for anyone non-local which makes them unpredictable and nervous drivers.

nine_k 2y ago
OTOH if you can't read the sign where to turn right, you can keep turning left, make a full circle, and check the signs again, and again if needed, in under half a minute. All without creating a problem to anyone around you, and being safe yourself. I'll take it any time over a typical highway exit; if you miss it, or uf you take a wrong one, it's usually dozens of miles before you have a chance to take any corrective action at all.
foota 2y ago
For one, roundabouts turn what would be a T-Bone intersection into a glancing hit. I think that's the biggest safety benefit. They also improve the flow of traffic since there's no starting and stopping (think of it like a stoplight is a mutex lock and a roundabout is a spinlock).
- bobthepanda 2y ago
  And because they have no electronic or moving parts, the upkeep is minimal. There is some cost to a traffic light, particularly as you start adding weird phases and whatnot.
nullindividual 2y ago
There is no room for a traditional roundabout in this location and the gravel trucks from the nearby quarry can hop the very short curbs as needed. This roundabout is perfectly fine in practice.
- AngryData 2y ago
  Gravel trucks are the last trucks that should ever be hopping curbs though, even gentle ones. Gravel trucks already require many roads to be upgraded due to the weight and damage they do just to a flat surface. A truck carrying diapers and crackers won't mind so much, but when you got 50 tons of gravel then even a small 1 inch jump causes significant extra forces on both the road and the truck.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - nullindividual 2y ago
    That road has been carrying gravel trucks for decades. The smart WSDOT engineers took into account the business with large trucks that is just a mile away when building this roundabout.
toast0 2y ago
> Not to mention tight roundabouts always have horrible curbs that trucks have to smash into to try and jump over to make the turns, and they are never gentle bumps, they are always tire and curb damaging trash, especially for heavy loads which are primarily the vehicles that need to jump the curbs. I'm not a fan of roundabouts, but the recent WSDOT roundabouts I'm subjected to have gentle curbs, at least for now, so that part isn't so bad. The part where I actually need to look left and right simultaneously to see if there's room for me to join the flow, and also watch for pedestrians (if present) isn't so great. And I'm really not a fan of the unbounded wait when there is a large flow that crosses my entrance, which could result in a very long wait when the large flow comes from rush hour conditions or a ferry offloading.
chrisco255 2y ago
This roundabout was intentionally designed for the curbs to be traversable by long vehicles.
fbarred 2y ago
Watch the video - this roundabout's islands are designed to be driven over by semis and trailers. (Hopefully the drivers of those vehicles know that).
ChoHag 2y ago
[dead]

nine_k 2y ago

OTOH if you can't read the sign where to turn right, you can keep turning left, make a full circle, and check the signs again, and again if needed, in under half a minute. All without creating a problem to anyone around you, and being safe yourself. I'll take it any time over a typical highway exit; if you miss it, or uf you take a wrong one, it's usually dozens of miles before you have a chance to take any corrective action at all.

foota 2y ago

For one, roundabouts turn what would be a T-Bone intersection into a glancing hit. I think that's the biggest safety benefit. They also improve the flow of traffic since there's no starting and stopping (think of it like a stoplight is a mutex lock and a roundabout is a spinlock).

bobthepanda 2y ago
And because they have no electronic or moving parts, the upkeep is minimal. There is some cost to a traffic light, particularly as you start adding weird phases and whatnot.

nullindividual 2y ago

There is no room for a traditional roundabout in this location and the gravel trucks from the nearby quarry can hop the very short curbs as needed. This roundabout is perfectly fine in practice.

AngryData 2y ago
Gravel trucks are the last trucks that should ever be hopping curbs though, even gentle ones. Gravel trucks already require many roads to be upgraded due to the weight and damage they do just to a flat surface. A truck carrying diapers and crackers won't mind so much, but when you got 50 tons of gravel then even a small 1 inch jump causes significant extra forces on both the road and the truck.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- nullindividual 2y ago
  That road has been carrying gravel trucks for decades. The smart WSDOT engineers took into account the business with large trucks that is just a mile away when building this roundabout.

toast0 2y ago

> Not to mention tight roundabouts always have horrible curbs that trucks have to smash into to try and jump over to make the turns, and they are never gentle bumps, they are always tire and curb damaging trash, especially for heavy loads which are primarily the vehicles that need to jump the curbs. I'm not a fan of roundabouts, but the recent WSDOT roundabouts I'm subjected to have gentle curbs, at least for now, so that part isn't so bad. The part where I actually need to look left and right simultaneously to see if there's room for me to join the flow, and also watch for pedestrians (if present) isn't so great. And I'm really not a fan of the unbounded wait when there is a large flow that crosses my entrance, which could result in a very long wait when the large flow comes from rush hour conditions or a ferry offloading.

chrisco255 2y ago

This roundabout was intentionally designed for the curbs to be traversable by long vehicles.

fbarred 2y ago

Watch the video - this roundabout's islands are designed to be driven over by semis and trailers. (Hopefully the drivers of those vehicles know that).

ChoHag 2y ago

[dead]