The same is happening in other UK cities, which have decided that signal junctions are better for traffic flow and safer for cyclists. [...]
After a century of resistance, US cities are finally learning to love the roundabout – the Bronx just got its first – believing them to be safer and better for traffic flow. [...]
“Traffic lights are so fascist and dictatorial, telling you when to stop and go,” says Beresford. “Roundabouts are quintessentially English and democratic in their etiquette.”
— theguardian.com
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5 Comments
Not all traffic circles are created equal...that one in Columbus Circle shown above is enormous and very different from the small ones that allow me to thankfully zip very quickly* through the local suburbs without stopping. Our local roundabouts also do a better job accommodating pedestrians, though not sure about bikes.
Also, traffic lights are "fascist and dictatorial"? LOL.
*So I don't have to spend any time with the appalling architecture and Stepford-esque residents, you see.
What's increasingly surprising to me is when any discussion around here does not take an ideological turn.
Not ideological. They arent safe for walkers and bikers, especially multi-lane ones and ones with large radii. The problem is that traffic engineers in many places, until recently, haven't designed with non-car road users in mind there's been a major shift over the past few years it's been swift
I also think it's a good thing that architects are taking more of an interest in road design.
You have to wonder if all the car crash statistics have been balanced against pedestrian / cyclist casualties. The idea that we are still designing for automobiles puts us firmly in 1950.
When too many people rely on hard and fast rules the design process becomes extremely dogmatic. Some will decide that one particular model serves "the public" while another serves the car as if the public isn't also using cars.
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