Video description:
Roundabouts - the circular intersections seen all over Europe and elsewhere in the world - are said to be far safer than traffic lights. Research shows they reduce crashes, clear up congestion and save cities quite a bit of money. They have a heritage in the U.S., but America has a fraction of the roundabouts that far smaller countries like France, Spain and the United Kingdom have. But there are some states that are adopting them, and one small town in particular: Carmel, Indiana. The people of Carmel love their roundabouts and the mayor credits them with helping revitalize his city. So are they all they’re cracked up to be? And if so, why hasn’t the U.S. adopted them?
Roundabouts have a bad reputation in America because so many of the roundabouts in America are poorly designed. There are 3 in my county, on a road created so semis don’t have to drive through downtown the others are on a highway exit next to the largest truck stop in the area, none of them are large enough for a semi to go through without the trailer jumping the curb and crushing the plants in the middle.
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Roundabouts have consistently fewer casualties, and usually better traffic flow. Those seem like valid reasons to me.
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Ever visited the Netherlands? Almost all urban intersections are roundabouts. It works.
I have roundabouts near me, I used to be for them until I rode my bike through them. Never again. The problem is cars, not the type of intersection.
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Unless I can carry 5 gallons of paint and all my tools on a bicycle, it doesn’t really matter. Roads are necessary.
That’s actually quite doable, see “cargo bikes”. Also, cultural change takes time, I’m not suggesting we junk all cars and raze all roads immediately.
