Roundabouts

[expatriate]

Agreed. Jefferson/Grand Blvd. would be a perfect candidate, but there are many other opportunities on the incredibly wide avenues like Gratiot, Grand River, Michigan and perhaps even Woodward/8 Mile.

[401don]

Agreed. Jefferson/Grand Blvd. would be a perfect candidate, but there are many other opportunities on the incredibly wide avenues like Gratiot, Grand River, Michigan and perhaps even Woodward/8 Mile.

It's been a few years since I've been on one, and it's usually in places with very few pedestrians, but I can't remember exactly how do roundabouts handle them? When there's traffic, cars wait for their opening and then often speed into the roundabout. Do they have to watch for a pedestrian before exiting the other side? Do they stop or continue around again until it's clear?

[1953]

I am opposed to roundabouts. They degrade the urban experience.

1953

[Gistok]

I am opposed to roundabouts. They degrade the urban experience.

1953

Not always... Campus Martius is an odd shaped roundabout in the very heart of Detroit.

And NYC Columbus Circle is a hive of activity [[I would love something like this at the entrance to Belle Isle)....

[expatriate]

I am opposed to roundabouts. They degrade the urban experience.

1953

One need only to google "beautiful roundabout" images to see that this is not the case.

[bust]

It's been a few years since I've been on one, and it's usually in places with very few pedestrians, but I can't remember exactly how do roundabouts handle them? When there's traffic, cars wait for their opening and then often speed into the roundabout. Do they have to watch for a pedestrian before exiting the other side? Do they stop or continue around again until it's clear?

Roundabouts have been around a lot longer than cars and this wasn't a problem when pedestrians shared the road with horses, buggies, and pushcarts. The later addition of streetcars caused some complications. But ever since roundabouts were redesigned for cars they're usually terrible for pedestrians, who rely on stop signals to cross the road safely, and stopping traffic defeats the goal of keeping cars moving freely. I used to live near Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, which has a big roundabout with traffic lights, crosswalks, and bike lanes, and year after year it's always among the locations for crashes, pedestrian injuries, and deaths -- even with stoplights, and before they added the bike lanes.

It's ambitious to propose a roundabout for Mack and Moross without traffic lights. But it's hard to imagine cars reliably stopping for pedestrians in the crosswalks, and were they to, it's hard to imagine how that won't sometimes back traffic up into the circle and cause a mess. Imagine using the roundabout for a right turn. You'd have two crosswalks to deal with, one immediately before entering the circle and seconds later another immediately after exiting to the right. It would be dangerous for everyone. I can't see that without traffic lights or prohibiting pedestrians from crossing there.

They're absent in the illustration, but maybe traffic lights are part of the plan. It would make it much better for pedestrians, and safer for everyone. But would it reduce traffic? Maybe by discouraging it there in the first place.

[expatriate]

The plan places the pedestrian crossings well before for traffic circle giving drivers ample opportunity to assess the situation. The islands provide a break that allows a rest for those who need it before continuing across. As it stands the elderly must scramble to traverse the intersection in a single signal.

[Honky Tonk]

The plan places the pedestrian crossings well before for traffic circle giving drivers ample opportunity to assess the situation. The islands provide a break that allows a rest for those who need it before continuing across. As it stands the elderly must scramble to traverse the intersection in a single signal.

An elongated crosswalk with a rest area, brilliant!