Traffic Circle at 11th and Elgin

[dbacks fan]

I like that the entrances and exits for the Interstate don't happen at the same place. (As they typically do on a Clover Leaf) How do the on-off ramps and circle/roundabouts fare in heavy traffic?

Very well, once people got used to it, it flows better than if they used traffic signals. There really aren't any clover leaf interchanges here even for highway to highway ones.

[dsjeffries]

I like that the entrances and exits for the Interstate don't happen at the same place. (As they typically do on a Clover Leaf) How do the on-off ramps and circle/roundabouts fare in heavy traffic?

The city of Carmel Indiana convinced the state department of transportation to give them ownership of a congested road after the state presented plans to add lanes to ease the congestion. They're now building roundabout interchanges to reduce congestion instead of adding new lanes. I wish our city and state leaders could do something innovative like this instead of making all our intersections a mile wide (Yale is now 8-10 lanes at I-44). This is a cool solution.

Carmel also has been on a roundabout-building craze for the last 10 years and has seen a huge drop in accidents. They now have 55 roundabouts.

Other cities have done similar things, so they must be doing something right! ...something that traditional intersections can't do.

Carmel's Keystone Parkway Project: http://www.carmellink.org/
Article by IIHS on Carmel's roundabouts: http://www.iihs.org/externaldata/srdata/docs/sr4511.pdf

[dbacks fan]

This is the closest you will get to a clover leaf interchange in the Phoenix area, and it was never completed.

[cannon_fodder]

This will be an improvement and causing people to be confused/slow down might actually HELP some drivers.  Really though, it isn't that difficult.  Imagine this being downtown:

[dsjeffries]

This will be an improvement and causing people to be confused/slow down might actually HELP some drivers.  Really though, it isn't that difficult.  Imagine this being downtown:

That's the "Magic Roundabout" in Swindon, England. It's been called the scariest intersection in the UK. But really, other than throwing five roundabouts into one, roundabouts are pretty simple and straightforward.

[livingkate]

The current intersection at 11th and Elgin is the ONLY place in Tulsa I have ever been involved in a wreck (I wasn't driving). In its current state, it can be confusing to say the least. Any change will be an improvement, but it any surprise that some Tulsans would have an adverse reaction to change? 

[Hoss]

Whatever you call it, they've been shown to dramatically reduce accidents (by as much as 75%), all around the world.

That traffic circle and the rotary at Admiral and Mingo are nothing like this new one. New designs (last 20+ years) are much easier for drivers (even Tulsa's drivers) to understand and navigate.

DBacks, there are some cool animations of the Happy Valley roundabouts here: http://www.azdot.gov/ccpartnerships/roundabouts/AZ_Roundabouts.asp

How in the hell is the one at Admiral and Mingo not easy to navigate or understand?  Yield signs exist at ALL the entrances to the circle.  Markings on the road indicating if you're in the outside lane you do NOT enter the circle but turn right exist.  Yet over 50 percent of people I see traverse this thing do it wrong.  I know several people that avoid the area completely.  It's not difficult and this one, if navigated with COMMON SENSE is actually pretty easy to use.

[dbacks fan]

How in the hell is the one at Admiral and Mingo not easy to navigate or understand?  Yield signs exist at ALL the entrances to the circle.  Markings on the road indicating if you're in the outside lane you do NOT enter the circle but turn right exist.  Yet over 50 percent of people I see traverse this thing do it wrong.  I know several people that avoid the area completely.  It's not difficult and this one, if navigated with COMMON SENSE is actually pretty easy to use.

Ages ago when I took driver-ed in high school, our driving instructor took us there to learn how to properly use one.

[dsjeffries]

How in the hell is the one at Admiral and Mingo not easy to navigate or understand?  Yield signs exist at ALL the entrances to the circle.  Markings on the road indicating if you're in the outside lane you do NOT enter the circle but turn right exist.  Yet over 50 percent of people I see traverse this thing do it wrong.  I know several people that avoid the area completely.  It's not difficult and this one, if navigated with COMMON SENSE is actually pretty easy to use.

I'm not saying that one is hard to use, just that designs have improved greatly and modern ones are better than that one.

[dbacks fan]

That intersection sounds a little dirty.

North 69th E. Ave & Virgin is dirtier.   

[DTowner]

I actually think the roundabout at 10th/11th & Elgin will be an improvement.  But I also think it will be dangerous for a while because Tulsa drivers are easily confused by anthing that doesn't involve gunning it from one green light to the next red light, much less navigating this new type of intersection while updating their facebook page.

[dsjeffries]

Here's a neat, interactive page that teaches newbies how to use roundabouts: http://www.ourston.com/resources/educational-tools/animations/four-leg.html

[dbacks fan]

Here's a neat, interactive page that teaches newbies how to use roundabouts: http://www.ourston.com/resources/educational-tools/animations/four-leg.html

Yes, but in the animation, it shows drivers slowing down for pedestrians in the crosswalks. I don't remember that happening in Tulsa.

[carltonplace]

Yes, but in the animation, it shows drivers slowing down for pedestrians in the crosswalks. I don't remember that happening in Tulsa.

Huh? I thought we were suppose to target people that don't have cars.

[Red Arrow]

Huh? I thought we were suppose to target people that don't have cars.

10 Points each.  First driver to 100 wins.