[Mpls] Lake Street lane vote

[Allen]

Thanks for everyone's feedback on roundabouts.  I'd like to add that I've
seen roundabouts of all sizes used.  Roundabouts work less well the faster
the traffic is coming into them.  For example a roundabout on 35W wouldn't
work.  :)  I've also seen some, like in Seattle's Capital Hill neighborhood,
that are very small and used to force traffic to slow down in residential
areas.  

The major problem I see with roundabouts has to do with the footprint they
require and that they are something drivers are not familiar with in this
area.  One would assume that they some people would become used to them,
still they're not common.  Also, there may be situations where the planners
don't want to keep traffic flowing.

Overall, I would like to see them incorporated into the city.  It would have
to be a commitment over a long period of time though given the change in the
right-a-ways that would be needed.

Allen Graetz
Lowry Hill, MPLS



-----Original Message-----
From: mpls-bounces at mnforum.org [mailto:mpls-bounces at mnforum.org] On Behalf
Of Chris Johnson
Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 9:45 PM
To: mpls at mnforum.org
Subject: Re: [Mpls] Lake Street lane vote

Joncgord at aol.com wrote:

Traffic circles or roundabouts with modern non-tangential yield upon 
entry rules seem to work well where ever they are used.  I can only 
personally testify to the one in Minneapolis at Minnehaha Parkway and 
Minnehaha Avenue, the several in Washington D.C. and the too numerous to 
count in Great Britain, France, Austria and Germany -- and they all 
worked well, although I have to admit the drivers here in Minneapolis 
appear to be the most confused of the bunch as to what to do.  The rules 
are simple.  Learn them once and why they are they way they are, and 
they should stick with you forever.

However, there are places they work better than others, and places where 
they don't work so well.  Traffic engineers who keep up with, or bone up 
on, the latest in professional writings on the subject would have the 
quantitative tools to calculate which intersections on Lake Street, if 
any, would benefit.

In general, yes, they work in large cities.  London and Washington D.C. 
are both quite a bit larger than the Twin Cities.

Here's some general information about traffic circles and usage in the 
U.S. and Canada:

    http://www.drivers.com/article/334
    
http://www.city.hamilton.on.ca/public-works/Roads-And-Traffic/roundabout.asp
    http://www.roundaboutsusa.com/


Chris Johnson, Fulton

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