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SW Sask | Bingo. The city where I live has started using roundabouts from time to time. They are all on single lane streets, so we haven't had to adapt to that bizarre "inside has right-of-way" stuff. They're a bit awkward, and you have to be pretty careful with a long wheelbase truck and a 30 ft gooseneck with the axles way at the back of the trailer.
BUT: it is an improvement from the traffic plan for the previous 30 years: when it doubt, get everybody to stop. Four way stops everywhere. Its safe, no doubt about it, because nothing happens quickly. I swear, some people don't stop until its safe. They stop as though they're waiting for their IQ to improve before they take their turn....
Tons of fender-benders, but they're low speed so nobody gets hurt.
Related; as an engineer that has worked with lots of design teams, I'm pretty much at peace with what they produce. There is always an element of the old engineering joke. You know, if its not broken, it doesn't have enough features yet... But they're always faced with a ton of compromises to make. And most of the time, the extra buck it would cost to improve the product is not a buck that the corporation will let them have...
But don't get me started on urban planners. If I met one of them, I fear that I'd start with a swift kick before I tried to calmly express some concerns...
danr
Edited by DanR 12/13/2018 22:20
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Which engineer do you want to get a hold of?
