I have often thought as I drove through this intersection that it is one of the better candidates for a roundabout. The existing intersection just doesn’t work. A lot of people are confused by the layout because it’s non-intuitive. The “through” movement is the northbound left and eastbound right, which is counter to pretty much every other intersection I’ve ever seen in my entire life. As a result, you get people going north on Route 3 that stop when they shouldn’t and almost get rear ended, you get people that don’t understand and try to go straight without stopping and almost cause a head on (and occasionally do just that). I have observed more near misses at that intersection than any other single intersection I can think of.
You can say that people don’t always get a traffic circle, but nobody that hasn’t been here several times before understands the existing intersection. At least a roundabout is a standard layout everywhere you go.
A traffic signal here poses several challenges. You would probably want two lanes on Route 3 south so you can have a “left” turn lane to 11B, but there is no room for that lane on the bridge. As a result, it would be pretty common for that red light to back up past Lakeside Ave. Plus, a light is a helluva lot uglier than a nicely landscaped roundabout.
I seem to recall a lot of people getting their feathers all ruffled about the Parade Road roundabout during the design & construction, but then grudgingly admitting that they liked it afterwards. I’ve always seen it working just fine on peak summer weekends, why would this be different?
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Originally Posted by john60ri
I recall the rotaries down at the Cape, near the Bourne Bridge, which were actually pretty dangerous, what with people trying to change lanes very quickly to make their exit. Sometimes it was like bumper cars at an amusement park. I would go with better signs and maybe a streetlight.
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I wouldn't compare a modern roundabout to an old-style Massachusetts Rotary. They are usually 1/3 the size or less. Smaller size means much lower speeds, which actually means that they operate more efficiently (drivers closer together), with less confusion (lower speeds give you more time to figure out what's going on), and safer (obviously).
Take a look at this old rotary being converted to a roundabout. On the outside, you've got the old, the new one is going in the middle.
