Ride the Roundabout!
This spring, construction is expected to begin on the City of Mason’s first roundabout. It will be at the intersection of Mason Road with Hickory Woods Drive and Sarah Drive and will be constructed at the same time as the Mason Road improvement project. City Council has also authorized the city to proceed with the design for a second roundabout at the intersection of Mason-Montgomery and Bethany Roads.
Click the image below to ride the roundabout!
What is a roundabout?
Roundabouts are a type of small, circular, intersection. Traffic circulates counter-clockwise around a central island at speeds of approximately 15 to 20 miles per hour.
Roads leading into a roundabout are regulated with a yield sign. This means that traffic entering the roundabout yields to the traffic already in the roundabout. If there is no traffic in the roundabout, entering vehicles do not have to stop. This translates to an overall time savings for motorists using the intersection. It also causes roundabouts to be significantly more efficient than a traffic signal or stop sign.
Consider late evenings when there is little traffic on the road. No more waiting for a green light when there is no one else in sight – just go!
Modern roundabouts are different from rotaries and other traffic circles. They are typically smaller than the large, high-speed rotaries still in use in some parts of the country. In addition, roundabouts are typically larger than neighborhood traffic circles that are used primarily to calm traffic on residential streets.
Why use roundabouts?
The City of Mason is committed to providing the safest, most efficient transportation system possible with the resources that are available. Roundabouts fit the bill due to their slow speeds and the lack of direct left turns in roundabouts. Drivers who wish to go left at an intersection actually merge right to enter the roundabout, circulate counter-clockwise to the appropriate exit, and go right to exit, making them significantly safer than traditional forms of intersection control.
According to studies performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on existing roundabouts in the United States, fatalities are reduced by 90 percent, injuries by 70 percent, and all crashes by around 40 percent! At least one U.S. community has even had their vehicle insurance rates lowered due to their aggressive use of roundabouts.
Benefits of Roundabouts
Improved safety
- Roundabouts remove the potential for head-on and high-speed, right-angle collisions
- All vehicles travel in the same direction, never crossing paths at a right angle to other vehicles, dramatically reducing the number of serious crashes
- They do not rely on electricity – in the event of a power outage, roundabouts continue to function safely
- Slower vehicle speeds give drivers more decision-making time
- Slower speeds are safer for pedestrians
- There are fewer conflict points in roundabouts than in traditional intersections (see diagram)
Reduced congestion
- Efficient during both peak hours and other hours
- No need for approaching traffic to stop unnecessarily if there is a sufficient gap to enter the roundabout
- Less delay
Reduced pollution and fuel usage
- Fewer stops and hard accelerations reduce both air and noise pollution
- Less idling for cars
- Significantly less vehicle exhaust being released into the atmosphere
- Improved fuel economy
Improved quality of life
- Quieter operation
- Traffic calming
- Timesavings for motorists
- Less asphalt and more green space, reducing stormwater runoff and providing landscaping opportunities
- Functional and aesthetically pleasing
Design of the roundabout should be finished by the end of the month and construction should begin in the spring. The city received a $273,000 federal grant for the roundabout, about half the cost of construction.
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