Traffic Circles

[john_denver]

I've driven in Ireland (Galway), which is pretty much all traffic circles at every intersection and you drive on the left. You get used to it pretty quickly, and the roundabouts are fun once you get the hang of them. I like the fact that you pretty much NEVER stop. Driving a stick shift with my left hand and the clutch on the other side was pretty challenging.

[GRDadof3]

Wow, yes...left hand on the stick shift...I have never had that opportunity.

The car a rented in London was an automatic transmission.

[john_denver]

I just remembered by parking fine I got in downtown London on a Sunday.

The night before I parked my car at a meter after hours...I was suppose to wake up at 9am the next morning to feed the meter but was exactly 4 minutes late.

I ran outside and saw the parking services truck pull away after they had clamped my wheels.

Five hours later and 200 British Pounds in fees later, my car was free. It cost more because it was a Sunday but if I left it clamped for more than 4 hours, they would have towed which could have tripled the recovery fee.

Thankfully I was in the UK...if I had been in any other more "bureaucratic" country in Europe, it probably would have taken days.

[GRCityPlanner]

May I submit the following:

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...p;scene=4343838

What do you think? Fulton & Division?

[john_denver]

May I submit the following:

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...p;scene=4343838

What do you think? Fulton & Division?

[tamias6]

May I submit the following:

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...p;scene=4343838

What do you think? Fulton & Division?

[blueradon]

I think it's safe to say that at some point 28th and EB are going to need ramps instead of traffic lights. As bad as that may sound to some - it's sort of an alternative to a roundabout. I just avoid that altogether because of the traffic light is horrible there.

[tallguy76]

I'm not sure what you mean by ramps at 28th and EBL, blueradon.

[Allison Slater]

I think he means use a highway interchange-like system for the intersection, where instead of left turn lanes one has ramps rising over the traffic and arriving at the destination without having to cross any other traffic.

[tallguy76]

I think it's safe to say that will never happen.

[highwayguy]

I think it's safe to say that at some point 28th and EB are going to need ramps instead of traffic lights. As bad as that may sound to some - it's sort of an alternative to a roundabout. I just avoid that altogether because of the traffic light is horrible there.

[d8alterego]

GR's first ever roundabout has been a success:

"The first opened last year at nearby Cherry Street and Jefferson and, apparently, has not confused area motorists, city officials said.

'We've monitored it very closely since it's the first one in town,' said Grand Rapids Public Works Director Patrick Bush. 'So far, there's been little to no complaints from the public' -- and no reported car accidents. 'It looks promising.'"

That is awesome. Let's hope that the complaints/accidents stay at a minimum.

[jas49503]

You're lucky. All the rental cars at Shannon Airport were "economy", and tiny. But even with the tiny car, I banged the side mirrors twice while passing parked cars.

Here are a couple of pictures I found online that pretty much sum up driving through the streets and roads there:

We're so spoiled here.

[fotoman311]

GR's first ever roundabout has been a success:

"The first opened last year at nearby Cherry Street and Jefferson and, apparently, has not confused area motorists, city officials said.

'We've monitored it very closely since it's the first one in town,' said Grand Rapids Public Works Director Patrick Bush. 'So far, there's been little to no complaints from the public' -- and no reported car accidents. 'It looks promising.'"

That is awesome. Let's hope that the complaints/accidents stay at a minimum.

[GRDadof3]

I don't know who they are watching, but it seems like just about every time (at least 10-12 trips) I went by there somebody appeared hesitant or confused about how it worked.

Despite this, because the tendency is toward confusion or caution, I think that contributes to the lack of accidents. To me, the general design of a roundabout forces people to slow down, which makes any accident that would occur less damaging. That is the beauty of the things in my opinion. I certainly wouldn't mind an explosion of roundabouts, appropriately placed, throughout the city. And if there were more of them, people would become more comfortable and familiar with how they worked.

[snoogit]

You know, a roundabout might be just the way to "fix" Cherry and Division without having to make some drasitc changes.

[allbusiness]

How about Michigan and Ottawa. If any intersection needs to keep flowing....

[Allison Slater]

I'm not sure a roundabout would be all that great on Michigan Hill's incline. Gasgasgasbrakebrakebrake!

[Rizzo]

I voted for other, put one in on US131 and Cherry ST. For asthetics, that would be a cool gateway.

[Talking Up GR]

I'd vote "none of the above."

What I would like to see first: standardize when you get the turning arrow. Is it before the green? After? It depends on where you are.

Then, we work on stopping at red lights. I find myself counting to three before going on a green.

Once these ideas are solidified, maybe then we can work on obtaining the extra real estate for these big-intersection turning circles.

[grcitydog]

While I really like the idea of a roundabout; their safety and aesthetics, the problem with putting them in a downtown area is simply that they require a lot of land. A corner such as Fulton/Union/Lake would be ideal, but I would hate to see some of those houses come down to build it. Even the Wealthy/Jefferson corner required demolition (the south side of Wealthy was flattened years ago already). If they can be built without destroying old buildings, then bring them on.

[highwayguy]

I voted for other, put one in on US131 and Cherry ST. For asthetics, that would be a cool gateway.

[Rizzo]

I have to assume that you mean at the exit/entrance ramps by the arena, not in middle of the S-Curve.

Actually, I hadn't though of those ramps before, but that would be a good location for one, as would the US-131 ramps and Oakes St. It would be much easier to do it now than 20 years from now when buildings have taken up all of the open land.

I agree, there just isn't enough space to do it in a lot of places without demolishing something. The one at Cherry St and Jefferson Ave didn't need too much extra space, but it's also only a single lane with light volumes and low speeds. I'm guessing that the roundabouts on Wealthy St will be larger than the one built last year, and will probably have more than one lane.

[fotoman311]

I was just reading an article about riding your bicycle in traffic circles at commutebybike.com ( http://commutebybike.com/2007/12/09/commut...01-roundabouts/ ) and it reminded me of my all time favorite roundabout.

Here's the aerial shot:

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...1&encType=1

Edit: Here's a link for you non IE/Firefox users.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...mp;t=h&z=18

In this case, the roundabout is a GIGANTIC improvement on what was basically just a giant mess of an intersection. There were two triangle shaped islands and you'd basically try your best to take turns and just not run into other cars. As a bonus, it kind of feels like you're on a little go cart track when you're going around it, because there's a slight elevation change, especially on the south side.

[Sailor]

Here's the aerial shot:

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...1&encType=1

Edit: Here's a link for you non IE/Firefox users.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...mp;t=h&z=18