Roundabouts
What is a Roundabout?
How to Use a Roundabout
Benefits of a Roundabout
Milton Roundabouts
For More Information
What is a Roundabout?
A roundabout is an alternative to using traffic lights at intersections. Roundabouts are used throughout the world to reduce crashes, traffic delays, fuel consumption, air pollution, and construction costs. Roundabouts, because of their design and slower speed of vehicles, have also been credited with reducing the number one killer at conventional intersections - the high-speed, head-on or broadside T-bone crash.
Roundabouts are not the best type of intersection in all situations, however when they are utilized there are many benefits.
The information on this page will help you understand how to use a roundabout and the various benefits one brings to the table.
How to Use a Roundabout
- Slow down. Obey traffic signs
- Yield to pedestrians and bicyclists
- Move into the correct lane for the direction you want to travel
- Yield to traffic on your left already in the roundabout
- Enter the roundabout when there is a safe gap in traffic
- Keep your speed low within the roundabout and do not change lanes within the roundabout
- As you approach your exit, turn on your right turn signal in front of the splitter island just prior to your exit to indicate your intention to exit.
- Yield to pedestrians and bicycles as you exit
Refer to this interactive animation from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation so you can see how a roundabout intersection works.
Benefits of a Roundabout
There are many benefits to using a roundabout rather than conventional intersections. As discussed above, a roundabout can reduce the amount of deadly intersection collisions because of the reduced speed and circular design. It also reduces the need or desire for drivers to speed up in order to make it through a yellow light.
The Statistics
- 90% reduction in fatal crashes
- 76% reduction in injury crashes
- 30-40% reduction in pedestrian crashes
- 10% reduction in bicycle crashes
Other benefits include:
- Reduce delay and improve traffic flow
- Roundabout intersections are able to handle more traffic than conventional intersections because vehicles are not required to stop, just yield. It also promotes a continuous flow of traffic unlike conventional intersections. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation also cites a study conducted by Kansas State University that found that roundabouts reduced delays by 20 percent at intersections that previously had conventional intersections.
- Save money
- The cost of a conventional traffic signal and a roundabout end up being comparable.
Refer to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation website for additional information about the benefits of roundabouts.
Roundabouts in Milton
Milton is in the process of welcoming its first roundabouts into the City with the State Highway 59 Realignment that will be completed in 2009.
Click on the map to view a larger map of the plans for the State Highway 59 realignment and for the State Highway 26 bypass that has a timeframe of 2012 to 2014. The bypass will also incorporate the roundabouts developed during the State Highway 59 reallignment.
For More Information
Click here to view more resources from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.