Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Designing Local Roads

The power to save consumers fuel lies not only with drivers, but also with local governments. We've written before about how lowering the speed limit on highways can save gas, but you can also support simple changes in your own neighborhood that will save fuel.

For instance, removing unnecessary stop signs saves gas. Every time a car has to stop and accelerate it wastes fuel. Also, stop lights are particularly notorious gas-chuggers because they force a line of traffic to sit in a perpetual idle.

The solution? Become an advocate for roundabouts. Replacing traffic lights with large roundabouts not only reduces gas use, because fewer vehicles are coming to a stop, but also reduces traffic accidents.

Ways to Design Gas Savings into U.S. Roads (All Things Considered)

Related:
More Gas-Saving Moments of the Day (KickingTires)

Comments

Excellent suggestion! I'm from overseas and miss the roundabouts here in the US. They make negotiating semi-busy intersections so much easier. If there's no traffic, then you can just roll right on through. There's nothing worse than having to stop at (numerous) stop signs when there is not another car for miles. When there is traffic, they save the confusion of the "who's on first, who's on second" scenarios of four-way stops.

there are a few roundabouts here in the Boston area. most people are horrible at negotiating one. some would just charge in at full speed regardless of whether there's space for them, and some would sit there for 10 minutes because they are too timid.

I'm not sure most Americans are ready for an roundabout. There needs to be a plan to teach the public first, like public service announcements and/or putting a few questions regarding how to properly negotiate one in the driving test.

introducing a major change such as increasing the number of roundabouts would be very tough. heck, i'll settle for more expeditious filling of potholes first.

I had several around me when I lived in Gaithersburg, MD. They were extremely nice. I did come up behind a couple of people that were to timid, but in most cases I could hop into another lane and get around them.

However, afterthought round abouts can be very hurtful. In my parents' neighborhood in Columbus, OH they converted a standard neighborhood intersection into a roundabout, but didn't increase the intersection size at all. What it resulted in, was the inability for anyone towing something to make a left hand turn to get around it. Full size pickups would sometimes have to stop go into reverse and then finish their turn to avoid the curb. It was crazy! So while I'm all for them, please make sure they are properly engineered!

Paul

I encountered one in Mass as well and found it to be really tough to get to where I needed to go from a left lane to where I needed to exit. it was horribly marked as well.

Here in MA they put damn traffic lights at some traffic circles...WTF!? It defeats the purpose.

However, to promote walking, crosswalks need to be incorporated appropriately. I'm a big advocate for re-timing traffic signals and putting in sensors that only activate signals when a vehicle needs to cross a busy intersection.

As far as roundabouts and traffic circles, the more the merrier, but they need to be designed appropriately, with good signage.

There is a "suicide" circle in Des Plaines, IL and its pretty unbearable when there is traffic. You throw a few "inexperienced" drivers or a delivery truck in there and it effects everyone. I agree with DL that there needs to be a plan to teach people how to negotiate one.

One funny maneuver I've seen on a circle, was someone in a Hummer decided to drive right through the center. It was a grassy median like in the picture (except it was like 3x as big), and the person just plowed right through it. It was very funny but, of, course, very dangerous for other drivers.

It is exactly why I love my city for making certain major roads with lights that can be timed at every mile. Once you set the cruise control, you are good to go.

problem with the suicide circle in Des Plaines is the stop signs. Roundabouts and stop signs don't mix.

I really liked roundabouts back in Europe. They are very easy to navigate and speed up traffic (compared to stop signs or traffic lights). But people in Europe are used to them and we have them on our driver test exam. They carry most of negative points so everybody try to learn them properly.
Here in USA I don't think it is a good idea. At least in midwest region drivers are too undecesive and don't have very good skills especially when trying to merge/change lanes etc. Roundabouts are all about merging at right time. I think it would be a big mess here.
As for traffic lights Norway is an excellent example. All traffic lights there have sensors and they function flawlessly making traffic flow.

Living in northern MA, I've experienced them all my life and don't have a problem.

They put a new one near me that is strangely small and I was against it at first, but its proved to be a traffic reducer.

I lived in Boston and just about every traffic circle was ringed with a least stop signs and a few had traffic lights. The problem is with visibility. They are almost always in areas with business right up to the side walk ringed with parking meters and in some cases diagonal parking where you have to back out into the circle sometimes on both sides. In those cases there needs to be a inner and a outer ring for right turns to the next street in the circle and parking with a yield sign at the end for merging. But in boston there is no room for that and in some cases that would end the extra revenue from having the parking meters in the downtown commons.

The good people of Boston, so cultured in other ways, have absolutely no idea how to drive. That's why they have the highest rate of auto insurance claims in the nation. Roundabouts seem not to be helping.

From the Boston Globe:
Four of the top 20 crash sites were rotaries or circles. The state has already eliminated three of the rotaries in the top 20 and would like to eliminate all 70 in Massachusetts, even though they are making a comeback in a handful of other states where officials are convinced they promote safety by forcing drivers to slow down.