51–60 of 76 posts
I think if the roundabouts were large, then in fact they would always be superior to traffic lights. I could probably run the math on that, but the idea is that the lights aren't sensitive to the actual flow of traffic, and often make things backed up for no reason.
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One of the great advantages of roundabouts is that they're approximately "fair" whereas traffic lights are not. What I mean is that a traffic light is very arbitrary and stops people who just barely didn't make the cutoff. Multiply that by 5, 10, or 20 traffic lights on a journey and an extra minute at each one can add up. So people have incentive to run the light and shave the 30 seconds or a minute. But then when p…
Traffic lights with magnetic sensors to detect cars and amount of cars waiting work pretty well here in California. Unless you're riding a motorcycle...
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Where exactly do you live? I've driven all over the east coast and have never, ever seen any of this to be remotely true.
My guess is west coast. (1) is even lovely titled "California Pit Stop". Because people from California don't know to stop on the white line (or have a terrible perception of where the front of their vehicle is) many people stop in the pedestrian crossing . They proceed to roll through the 4-way stop so long as they don't see anyone. Although 20mph is cutting it, perhaps 10-15? Either way they never come to a full an…
"Cyclists have a demonstrably harder time with roundabouts." As the text acknowledges, a lot depends on the design of the roundabout. Just last week, we got https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2015/10/13/explaining-the... , which explains the current thinking of the dutch on roundabout design. Also, roundabouts have become more popular, but traffic deaths certainly haven't gone up in the Netherlands ( https://www.swov…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
One of the great advantages of roundabouts is that they're approximately "fair" whereas traffic lights are not. What I mean is that a traffic light is very arbitrary and stops people who just barely didn't make the cutoff. Multiply that by 5, 10, or 20 traffic lights on a journey and an extra minute at each one can add up. So people have incentive to run the light and shave the 30 seconds or a minute. But then when p…
The problem with roundabouts is starvation. I grew up in France, which has more than 50% of the world's roundabouts. They are everywhere. Where I am from, there is a roundabout at the intersection of a major road and a small road with little traffic. During rush hour, it is impossible to enter the roundabout coming from the small road because there is a continuous flow of cars coming from the major road. It is truly…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
My guess is west coast. (1) is even lovely titled "California Pit Stop". Because people from California don't know to stop on the white line (or have a terrible perception of where the front of their vehicle is) many people stop in the pedestrian crossing . They proceed to roll through the 4-way stop so long as they don't see anyone. Although 20mph is cutting it, perhaps 10-15? Either way they never come to a full an…
Note that going at the same time for nonconflicting paths is logical: at least if everyone reliably indicates lefts! Intersection controls exist for resolving the conflict over a resource: a piece of road needed by multiple vehicles which they can't all occupy at the same time. If there is no conflict, the control serves no purpose to that case, other than "traffic calming".
I guess the point we're both trying to get across is that people on the west coast, as a whole, don't seem to understand how to drive. :) It was motivation enough for me to buy a dashcam.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem with roundabouts is starvation. I grew up in France, which has more than 50% of the world's roundabouts. They are everywhere. Where I am from, there is a roundabout at the intersection of a major road and a small road with little traffic. During rush hour, it is impossible to enter the roundabout coming from the small road because there is a continuous flow of cars coming from the major road. It is truly…
Couldn't you just put speed bumps at the entrances to the roundabout to ensure a gap between cars in this case?
I live in Victoria, Australia, and we’ve had roundabouts for ages. I think they are very good for a certain scale of road/traffic. Mostly intersections with moderate amounts of traffic on average, and not high-speed. e.g., the main intersections within housing estates. Having too many of them instead of give-way signs drive you a little batty (I’m looking at you, Warrnambool) while really heavy traffic, major intersections work better with traffic lights.
My daughter recently got her learner license, and she has found roundabouts one of the trickier intersections to navigate. You have to read the traffic flow. This person about to enter on your right is going straight ahead, so will block you entering the roundabout[1], but they have to wait for that person coming the other way from you and going straight through, so you can slip in the gap that creates without cutting anyone else off. As with many things it is familiarity and practice that makes them work[2]. I think roundabouts work very well here for the most part, and my daughter is getting pretty good at reading the traffic. It’s not rocket science[3].
The science of roads and traffic I imagine is a surprisingly nuanced expertise involving a lot of physics and psychology. I find when I cross over the border to New South Wales I feel like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I eventually figured out it was because the signage was a different distance before the intersection compared to my home state. Once I was aware I could adapt.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10242816
[1] We drive on the left side of the road because Australia is in the southern hemisphere.
[2] I bet the first traffic lights caused an uproar. “Why the hell should I stop just because there’s a red light?!”
[3] Oh wait, actually, it is rocket science.
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Or my personal favorite in Sacramento, roundabout with some stop signs sprinkled in. I hear horns and accidents daily... https://www.google.com/maps/@38.5801855,-121.4694376,3a,75y,...
For true insanity you need to go to Washington DC which has roundabouts with divided lanes, pedestrian crossings, traffic lights, stop signs, and turning lanes. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Washington,+DC/@38.9092507... https://www.google.com/maps/place/Washington,+DC/@38.9020455...
I think if the roundabouts were large, then in fact they would always be superior to traffic lights. I could probably run the math on that, but the idea is that the lights aren't sensitive to the actual flow of traffic, and often make things backed up for no reason.
But roundabouts are insensitive to where the traffic is coming from. With light traffic, this is not a problem, but with heavy traffic, if all directions are getting the same priority, it may hurt the entrances with more traffic.