Jump to content

Forsyth Roundabouts. Good Planning or Bad Idea?


suburban george3

Recommended Posts

Saw this article in the Winston-Salem Journal today. What do you folks think? I travel a small roundabout frequently in my area (Old Salisbury @ Ardmore Rd.) I know several are in use in the county, just curious on everyone's thoughts. I think they work great as long as traffic isn't too congested.

Journal article on potential locations of Roundabouts

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 23
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I lived up north for a while, home of the roundabouts....the only difference is they call them rotaries, and I got used to calling them rotaries so now roundabouts just sound silly to me. Anyway they all worked very well, unless one or both of the roads were multi laned, then it wasn't very pleasant. Pretty much you just go for an opening and get off the rotary when your "exit" comes up. I drove around and around one a few times in my day :-p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think the one at Five Points would work out to well. reason 1 is because the intersection is swamped with cars at lunchtime and beyond, reason 2 is it would be just too confusing, and reason 3 would be it just wouldn't work out.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree. That would look like a demolition derby. :o

I was wondering how the one near my house at Main and Waughtown would work as two lanes but it seems to be fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK , looked it up-it is "like" a traffic circle(though supposedly they work a bit better). They have a traffic circle in Graham NC that goes around the courthouse. It works well IMO. I could see it being good once folks got used to it and how it works.

Here are some pictures I found in my search:

http://www.ksu.edu/roundabouts/ada/photos/clemmons.htm

http://www.ksu.edu/roundabouts/ada/photos/lewisville.htm

http://www.ksu.edu/roundabouts/ada/photos/winstonsalem.htm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree. That would look like a demolition derby.  :o

I was wondering how the one near my house at Main and Waughtown would work as two lanes but it seems to be fine.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, but this one at Five Points would have to be 3 or 4 lanes to keep traffic flowing easily.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not certain if it is the same thing, but DC has a lot of "Circles," as in Logan Circle, Dupont Circle. These circles make the city seem European and often feature parks or monuments in the middle of the traffic. They can be confusing, but they are one of the great assets of DC.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah they are the same thing, but here in NC they don't make them as decoraative.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i think the one at five points would do well becaue it will organize that intersection. the other two, i cant see working. MLK proposal is too close to 52 and traffic over there is pretty light so i dont see the need for a traffic circle. the peters creek/1st st area is mixed with one ways and two ways which could be too confusing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not certain if it is the same thing, but DC has a lot of "Circles," as in Logan Circle, Dupont Circle. These circles make the city seem European and often feature parks or monuments in the middle of the traffic. They can be confusing, but they are one of the great assets of DC.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm not sure what decorative element that has been chosen, but the 2 lane traffic circle next to Old Salem is supposed to include some kind of art feature. It's right next to the School of the Arts, Old Salem, Salem Academy and College, and the new Gateway development. My guess would be something dealing with the "City of the Arts" nickname..but who knows.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

rotaries work very well. i have been in the boston area for a few months now and using a rotary is second nature for me now. the first few encounters with rotaries up here really freaked me out though. if you look at places like new england that have used rotaries forever, you see how well they can work. there might be a learning curve for people in winston, and NC in general (i had only been through a handfull of rotaries my entire life in NC before moving up here), but once people are acclimated to using it, the rotary will be a good solution.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As long as these roundabouts are built one lane approaching the yield, one lane inside the roundabout and one lane leaving the roundabout as shown here, roundabouts in areas that sees light to moderate traffic should not have a problem. Not knowing the areas in Winston that are being studied for roundabouts, i cant comment on these places whether they are going to work out well or not. W-SDOT and NCDOT should not look into two lane roundabouts in my opinion. Most people who see one big lane before/during/after the r-about, few will know the "outside" and "inside" lane idea.

The MDSHA link should work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 lane rotaries r very confusing...I mean the inside lane is sort of useless but ppl still use it, and they end up cutting the outside lane people off when they try to make their turn out of it....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm afraid that's what is going to happen with the new Main St. / Salem Ave. one. The roundabout is 2 lanes, the Main St. entrance/exits are 4 lanes, and the Salem Ave. entrance/exits are 2 lanes. :blink:

I'm going to try to get off my lazy butt soon and take some pictures of it to post here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 lane rotaries r very confusing...I mean the inside lane is sort of useless but ppl still use it, and they end up cutting the outside lane people off when they try to make their turn out of it....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the problem is that people don't know how to properly use a roundabout of 2 or more lanes. it depends on how many exits there are from the actual roundabout, but you are usually supposed to stay in the inside until you get past the exit before yours. the people in the outside lanes should either be out of your way by the time you need to get over to exit, or if they just got on, they should let you out. of course that's considering that you actually use your turn signal to exit, which almost never happens. i do it, but that's just because i'm all about driving properly. B)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

According to the WS Journal, the 2 lane roundabout at Salem Ave, and Main st hasn't resulted in any accidents, and people seem to be catching on. It's only been in operation for a few months now, so I guess only time will time.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I find that hard to believe but thats great!

The Pinehurst traffic circle when it was 2 lanes MARKED inside the circle had at least one accident a day. The only difference here, the approaching highways to the circle, had one lane entering the circle, not two lanes. In 1999, the circle was reconfigured (right before the 1999 US Open) to one lane inside the circle and continious right turning lanes connecting adjacent roads going to the circle. I have photos of the pinehurst circle which should be on Expressway Site soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find that hard to believe but thats great!

The Pinehurst traffic circle when it was 2 lanes MARKED inside the circle had at least one accident a day. The only difference here, the approaching highways to the circle, had one lane entering the circle, not two lanes. In 1999, the circle was reconfigured (right before the 1999 US Open) to one lane inside the circle and continious right turning lanes connecting adjacent roads going to the circle. I have photos of the pinehurst circle which should be on Expressway Site soon.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well the one at Salem Ave and Main has 2 lanes marked inside with road stripes and people seem to be catching on very well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

This topic's been dormant for a while, but in todays paper it talks about plans for 2 more roundabouts on both sides of the Peace Haven bridge over 421 to help keep traffic moving.

WSJ article about proposed Peace Haven/421 roundabouts.

Forsyth country already has the most roundabouts in the state. Would they accomplish their intended goal here?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Roundabouts are great, especially at interstate interchanges. One was built at I-26 and N.C. 108 in Columbus, Polk County because of the high number of left turns onto the interstate. It really reduced the backup and they're building another one on the other side. Much cheaper than widening the two lane bridge to accommodate a turning lane, which is planned for the far-off future, along with widening N.C. 108. This is considered a "band-aid fix."

327623413_aefe392fb6.jpg

287302274_d0a0782da3.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
This topic's been dormant for a while, but in todays paper it talks about plans for 2 more roundabouts on both sides of the Peace Haven bridge over 421 to help keep traffic moving.

WSJ article about proposed Peace Haven/421 roundabouts.

Forsyth country already has the most roundabouts in the state. Would they accomplish their intended goal here?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.