City hosting informational meeting on how the new roundabout on Oak will work

Posted by Billie Owens on May 5, 2009 - 3:30pm
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They tell us the under-construction roundabout at Oak and Pearl will make traffic move smoother and more safely, even for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Just how that will work is the subject of a public information meeting later this month.

City and state Department of Transportation officials will explain how roundabouts work from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 21 at Batavia City Hall.

Howard McCulloch, a DOT design specialist, will discuss the benefits of a roundabout. He has worked on similar projects throughout the state since 1999.

The local roundabout will be a circular intersection designed to slow traffic while decreasing delay time for motorists. The project is expected to be finished, or close to it, this summer.

McCulloch plans to: help educate the public on how to enter and navigate their way through the roundabout; describe the benefits of this new design; and give people a chance to ask questions.

According to the Institute for Highway Safety, which studied 23 roundabouts nationwide, total crashes dropped nearly 40 percent and serious injury/fatal accidents were cut by 90 percent after roundabouts were constructed.

Posted by Gabor Deutsch on May 5, 2009 - 4:09pm
It is simple, you just drive in a circle and it will save you time and make things much safer. well, as long as you dont get dizzy !
Posted by Peter O'Brien on May 5, 2009 - 4:48pm
yeah much safer till people change lanes in the middle of the circle and hit others.

They were all over Bahrain and I hate them. Normal traffic lights are better
Posted by Mark Potwora on May 5, 2009 - 5:31pm
According to the Institute for Highway Safety, which studied 23 roundabouts nationwide, total crashes dropped nearly 40 percent and serious injury/fatal accidents were cut by 90 percent after roundabouts were constructed.

I didn't realize that there was that many accidents over there....Its a joke..If they are so easy to drive thru ,why do they have to have a meeting to tell people how to drive thru them..
Posted by Bob Price on May 5, 2009 - 7:11pm
The closest thing to a roundabout I've driven is the traffic circle in Caledonia..I think they have a roundabout in Buffalo on Kensington Ave. somewhere...I just hope the curbs are tapered and short,not the sharp ones they usually use.
Posted by Bea McManis on May 5, 2009 - 7:48pm
"Posted by Mark Potwora about 2 hours ago
I didn't realize that there was that many accidents over there....Its a joke..If they are so easy to drive thru ,why do they have to have a meeting to tell people how to drive thru them.. "

Yo Mark!
It would seem logical that you go around in a circle until you arrive to the point where you exit the circle and enter your desired street (ala Caledonia). It isn't like we are going to have the traffic that Washington DC has and the confusion of DuPont Circle.
Frankly, I think this meeting is a measure to modify those who were inconvenienced by this construction. One wonders if there is going to be a roadblock at each entrance to the circle to hand out instructions to the hundreds of out of towners driving through who didn't attend or even know about a meeting?
I'm just saying...... :-)
Posted by Onofrio A. Perzia on May 6, 2009 - 12:09am
Caledonia, Avon, Buffalo, Geneseo and Warsaw have circles. Rule No. 1. Cars in the circle have the right of way.
Posted by Karen Miconi on May 6, 2009 - 8:50am
I wonder how much Caledonia's circle cost. Batavia's was so expensive, we might as well be in Washington DC..... And the Granate Curbs. I wonder how much those suckers were a piece. The Blacktop WOW nice.
Posted by Chad Flint on May 6, 2009 - 9:09am
These are popping up more and more. I drove through hamburg the other day and every intersection on main street was a roundabout. I don't mind them, I like not having to stop at stop lights and wait. Its a pretty simple concept, yield on your way in, drive to where you want to exit, and exit.

But if people didn't complain what would they have to do?
Posted by Lorie Longhany on May 6, 2009 - 9:28am
Caledonia's circle was essentially already there. It moves around an existing monument. It was much more confusing with stop signs and right of way issues than it is now as a traffic circle. I remember some construction work in Caledonia, but not nearly as intense a project as the Oak St circle.

I traveled and then drove through Ireland and not only experienced the traffic circle, which I quickly assessed I was a fan of, but I was also learning the art of driving on the opposite side of the road. I came home with a positive opinion of traffic circles.