Roundabouts retrofitted to disrupt street grid continuity

[briantroutman]

I ride my bicycle on the Upper Tampa Bay Trail frequently, but finding a convenient, bike-friendly route between my home and the trail has been something of a challenge. When I stopped at a trailhead recently and noticed that the intersecting road was Memorial Highway, I realized I could use it to make a direct easy connection to another bike-friendly road that passes near my home. Or at least I thought I could. I didn't account for this:



A roundabout was retrofitted to this once free-flowing road, and it's channelized so as to disallow any through connections on Memorial Highway. It also makes it impossible to turn from Montague on to Memorial headed northwest. DO NOT ENTER and NO U TURN signs as well as plastic bollards are in place to ensure that you don't make any movements you're not supposed to.

In my brief time in Florida thus far (at least in my local area), I've been frustrated by discontinuities such as sidewalks that lead nowhere, bike paths that connect to nothing, developments (even non-gated) with single points of access that allow only absurdly circuitous connections, and the like. But even this caught me by (unpleasant) surprise.

Has anyone else know of cases where roundabouts were similarly added to an existing road to disrupt the through movement?

[lordsutch]

It looks like the sidewalk has been deliberately widened on both sides of the roundabout to permit bikes to use it to make the connection. Certainly it would be legal to dismount to use it to traverse the distance.

That said, I haven't seen a roundabout used in exactly that way before.

[kurumi]

Good thing we blocked off all these side streets!
- Why?
Too much thru traffic was using them to avoid the main arterial!
- Why would they want to do that?
Because it's congested!
- Why is that?
Because it's the only way across town!
- Because...?
All the side streets are... blocked off...

[Max Rockatansky]

Have a good look at AZ 179 from Oak Creek to AZ 89A in downtown Sedona.  Roundabouts were installed in the last decade to replace all the traffic lights and force everyone onto two lane segments. 

[jakeroot]

Have a good look at AZ 179 from Oak Creek to AZ 89A in downtown Sedona.  Roundabouts were installed in the last decade to replace all the traffic lights and force everyone onto two lane segments.

The OP wants roundabouts without full circulation that curb through traffic. This stretch of AZ-179 has nothing to do with that.

[Roadrunner75]

Not roundabouts, but when I read the topic I immediately thought of this neighborhood in Anchorage that I happened to notice while playing around with Google Maps recently:

https://www.google.com/maps/@61.2105511,-149.858008,16z/data=!3m1!1e3?force=lite

And another situation without a roundabout, but similar channeling that was used to restrict through traffic from what used to allow full movements:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8638879,-75.2782395,19z/data=!3m1!1e3?force=lite

I know I've seen the situation described by the OP, though.  Have to think of where...

[Max Rockatansky]

Have a good look at AZ 179 from Oak Creek to AZ 89A in downtown Sedona.  Roundabouts were installed in the last decade to replace all the traffic lights and force everyone onto two lane segments.

The OP wants roundabouts without full circulation that curb through traffic. This stretch of AZ-179 has nothing to do with that.

Oh you missed the pun...indeed it does curb through traffic in favor of bike and pedestrian traffic.   The near disasters those roundabouts cause on a daily basis are the stuff of legends locally out that way.  Basically it was thinly veiled attempt at humor in regards my concempt for the butchering of traffic in those two cities.  Basically it was done purposely to make it more difficult to drive a car through either Oak Creek or Sedona. 

[Sykotyk]

Not roundabouts, but when I read the topic I immediately thought of this neighborhood in Anchorage that I happened to notice while playing around with Google Maps recently:

https://www.google.com/maps/@61.2105511,-149.858008,16z/data=!3m1!1e3?force=lite

And another situation without a roundabout, but similar channeling that was used to restrict through traffic from what used to allow full movements:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8638879,-75.2782395,19z/data=!3m1!1e3?force=lite

I know I've seen the situation described by the OP, though.  Have to think of where...

That first link in Anchorage is quite interesting. The problem is people don't want to live on 'thru streets', so they hope if they interrupt the flow, it makes their roads calmer. What it does is just piss off the drivers to make them speed through faster when they realize it's a cluster**** of a street grid.

Good things emergencies don't happen there that the authorities need to remember which street is a good street to go down on. Especially with fire trucks, etc, that aren't as happy to make a ton of turns on residential streets.

[Kacie Jane]

In my brief time in Florida thus far (at least in my local area), I've been frustrated by discontinuities such as sidewalks that lead nowhere, bike paths that connect to nothing, developments (even non-gated) with single points of access that allow only absurdly circuitous connections, and the like.

This isn't relevant to the title of the thread, but it reminds me of a Google Maps screenshot that made the rounds on Facebook/Tumblr a while back, where it took 20 minutes to drive between two Florida houses with adjoining backyards.  I'll have to dig to see if I can find it.

[Sykotyk]

In my brief time in Florida thus far (at least in my local area), I've been frustrated by discontinuities such as sidewalks that lead nowhere, bike paths that connect to nothing, developments (even non-gated) with single points of access that allow only absurdly circuitous connections, and the like.

This isn't relevant to the title of the thread, but it reminds me of a Google Maps screenshot that made the rounds on Facebook/Tumblr a while back, where it took 20 minutes to drive between two Florida houses with adjoining backyards.  I'll have to dig to see if I can find it.

http://usa.streetsblog.org/2013/02/28/sprawl-madness-two-houses-share-backyard-separated-by-7-miles-of-roads/

There's other links.

But god, that's crazy.

[GaryV]

Regarding the OP, I'd guess that the configuration was made due to the high school around the corner to the northeast.  Somebody on the western branch of Memorial Drive didn't want all those pesky HS drivers speeding down the street.  "Get off my lawn!"

[Kacie Jane]

http://usa.streetsblog.org/2013/02/28/sprawl-madness-two-houses-share-backyard-separated-by-7-miles-of-roads/

There's other links.

But god, that's crazy.

Yup, that's the one.  Gracias!