The mass ticketing of dozens of cyclists along the Shootout route last month has prompted Pima County officials to look for ways to better move traffic through the intersection.
One possible solution raised by Pima County’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Program manager Matt Zoll is a roundabout.
Zoll said roundabouts have been proven quite effective around the country and even in Tucson where several have been installed in the last several years.
When asked if Pima County was investigating installing a roundabout at the intersection of Mission Road and Duval Mine Road — the spot what almost 30 cyclists were ticketed — he said, “We are now.”
A roundabout —which you can experience for yourself at Continental Road and Camino Del Sol in Green Valley, Grande Avenue and Cushing Street in Tucson, and Hardy Road and Northern Avenue in Oro Valley — are designed to allow people to slow down, but continue without coming to a complete stop.
Studies have shown that roundabouts are generally safer and more efficient than stop signs. Even The Mythbusters say they work better.
The roundabout would force Shootout riders to slow and yield to vehicles in the circle, but would help move thr rides through the intersection.
Zoll said roundabouts can range anywhere from $300,000 – 1,000,000.
What do you think? Would a roundabout help?
Is there any word on whether the cyclists who did stop at the intersection, but were ticketed anyway, will fight those tickets? I certainly hope they do. I’ve never ever heard of a mass traffic enforcement against vehicles, although it’s amusing to imagine.
A roundabout does seem like a decent solution here. In my experience living in New England, people rapidly learn how to drive (and signal) properly through a roundabout when they see enough of them. Adding a few more in the Tucson region just makes these traffic features more normal, and reduces their mystique.
All-way stops could all be replaced by roundabouts (where all road users Yield, rather than Stop), as in Europe. Roundabouts help to keep traffic flowing, and reduce fuel consumption. For minor intersections, the center of a ‘mini-roundabout’ (a UK term) can consist of a white-painted circle on the pavement, so it does not need to be so expensive in many cases.
I know a really cheap solution….change the stop sign to a yield sign…it isn’t a busy intersection and the money to install a roundabout could be spent on many other more useful projects in & around pima county.
@bike geography – I have been a part of a mass traffic enforcement of cars in a similar manner. I group of my friends in 6-9 cars were driving some back roads (at a high rate of speed) to a destination and one cop managed to pull all the cars over in a similar manner to what happened on the shootout and proceeded to ticket all drivers for speeding…it’s been awhile but I think that the judge made everyone pay the fine
@bike geography there are a few of us who are going to go to court to fight it but I think many have decided not to risk losing the case and take diversion courses instead.
I regularly ride the Shootout but I don’t think this intersection is a good candidate for a roundabout for a few reasons 1) it is not a 4 way stop, there is only a stop sign when coming south on Mission. 2) I could be wrong but I believe that the vast majority of the traffic at that intersection is going east/west on Duval. 3) The mine trucks may have a hard time navigating a regularly sized roundabout.
A better solution would be implementing a law similar to the Idaho Stop. Instead of spending a million dollars to fix a single intersection changing the law would solve this problem at all intersections.
KyleVanRenterghem,
Modern roundabouts are designed for trucks
and trailer towing vehicles by including the center flat area around the
circle.It’s not a sidewalk, it’s called
a truck apron, and it’s for trucks to begin a sharp right or end a left or
U-turn on.
Roundabout
Trucks Videos:
WA DOT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsCoI7lERGE
FHWA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nVzsC2fOQw
Washington County, WI: http://tinyurl.com/trucksRABwi
Ourstons:
http://tinyurl.com/truckRABourston
U-turn:
http://tinyurl.com/rabtruckuturn
Snow
plow: http://tinyurl.com/rab-snowplow
Modern roundabouts are the safest form of
intersection in the world.Visit http://tinyurl.com/iihsRABfor modern roundabout FAQs and safety facts.Modern roundabouts, and the pedestrian refuge
islands approaching them, are two of nine proven safety measures identified by
the FHWA,http://tinyurl.com/7qvsaem
The FHWA has a video about modern
roundabouts that is mostly accurate (http://tinyurl.com/6v44a3x).
The
safety comes from the ‘slow and go’ operation instead of the ‘stop or go fast’
way a stop light works.The smaller size
of properly designed modern roundabouts is what makes them safer and keeps
speeds in the 20 mph range.This makes
it much easier to avoid a crash or stop for pedestrians.It also means that if a crash happens the
likelihood of injury is very low. US today
and many more on the way.
KyleVanRenterghem
The expense argument of the Idaho Stop is an interesting one. I agree that $1 million is a lot to spend on a single intersection (and the work will probably take 3 years, like all construction in Tucson).
RandomBikeGuy
Interesting- I’ve not heard stories like that. Sorry you got caught up on one, though!