Roundabouts: A New Way Through

To the uninitiated, driving through a roundabout for the first time can be a little intimidating and confusing. Or it can just plain make you dizzy (but only if you forget to exit). The fact is, roundabouts are growing in popularity as people realize their many benefits. According to the website RoundaboutsUSA, the number of roundabouts in the United States as of December 2013 was about 3,700.

Ayres has designed a variety of roundabouts, including a five-leg, multi-lane roundabout in Cheyenne, Wyoming, that just opened in December. (The photo above shows construction crews at work on the Cheyenne roundabout.) Our new roundabout design expert, Kevin Kuhlow, brings a portfolio of hundreds of roundabout designs throughout North America.

Here’s a little Roundabout 101, with help from the “All About Roundabouts” brochure created by Ayres and the City of Cheyenne. A roundabout is a one-way circular intersection intended to reduce congestion and be safer than a conventional intersection. How do roundabouts reduce congestion? They handle higher traffic volumes by keeping traffic moving rather than stopping at a red light or stop sign.

How are they safer? Head-on collisions and left-turn “T-Bone” type crashes don’t happen. Instead, crashes are more likely to be side swipes, which mostly result in fender-benders rather than severe accidents. The City of Cheyenne’s original complex intersection had 129 conflict points, or places where vehicles typically collide. The new roundabout only has 33 conflict points, and most of those are side swipes.

Interested in checking out some more Ayres roundabouts? Click here for a list of links to what we’ve been up to in the roundabout world.

Pictured below is the Ayres-designed 14th Street roundabout in Nassau County, Florida.