Why is WisDOT using roundabouts so excessively?

[tribar]

It seems like they are everywhere now.  Is there a reason why they seem to use them more than any other state? 

[peterj920]

The DOT says that they reduce severe crashes and that they move traffic faster than traffic signals.  Brown County has more than any county in the state, and every interchange along I-41 has roundabouts except the Lombardi Ave and Oneida St interchanges have roundabouts.  (Velp Ave has signals but will be replaced with roundabouts; those other 2 interchanges were supposed to get roundabouts but the Packers objected and signals were installed).  I drive through the I-41 and Mason St interchange frequently, and the interchange is moving traffic faster with roundabouts than with the traffic signals.  There's a traffic signal at Hinkle St where traffic is constantly backed up and that is where traffic is congested the most along that corridor. 

[DaBigE]

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=15928.0

[tribar]

The DOT says that they reduce severe crashes and that they move traffic faster than traffic signals.  Brown County has more than any county in the state, and every interchange along I-41 has roundabouts except the Lombardi Ave and Oneida St interchanges have roundabouts.  (Velp Ave has signals but will be replaced with roundabouts; those other 2 interchanges were supposed to get roundabouts but the Packers objected and signals were installed).  I drive through the I-41 and Mason St interchange frequently, and the interchange is moving traffic faster with roundabouts than with the traffic signals.  There's a traffic signal at Hinkle St where traffic is constantly backed up and that is where traffic is congested the most along that corridor.

The Packers?  Why do they get a say?

[Brandon]

The DOT says that they reduce severe crashes and that they move traffic faster than traffic signals.  Brown County has more than any county in the state, and every interchange along I-41 has roundabouts except the Lombardi Ave and Oneida St interchanges have roundabouts.  (Velp Ave has signals but will be replaced with roundabouts; those other 2 interchanges were supposed to get roundabouts but the Packers objected and signals were installed).  I drive through the I-41 and Mason St interchange frequently, and the interchange is moving traffic faster with roundabouts than with the traffic signals.  There's a traffic signal at Hinkle St where traffic is constantly backed up and that is where traffic is congested the most along that corridor.

The Packers?  Why do they get a say?

It's Wisconsin.  'Nough said. 

[peterj920]

The DOT says that they reduce severe crashes and that they move traffic faster than traffic signals.  Brown County has more than any county in the state, and every interchange along I-41 has roundabouts except the Lombardi Ave and Oneida St interchanges have roundabouts.  (Velp Ave has signals but will be replaced with roundabouts; those other 2 interchanges were supposed to get roundabouts but the Packers objected and signals were installed).  I drive through the I-41 and Mason St interchange frequently, and the interchange is moving traffic faster with roundabouts than with the traffic signals.  There's a traffic signal at Hinkle St where traffic is constantly backed up and that is where traffic is congested the most along that corridor.

The Packers?  Why do they get a say?

It's Wisconsin.  'Nough said. 

The Packers had a say because on gamedays, traffic is heavy at those 2 interchanges, and roundabouts would have been a lot harder for officers to control.  During games, officers manually control all of the traffic signals in the area because there's so much traffic along with a lot of pedestrians.  The Packers also own the majority of land along Lombardi Ave.  They own the Cabellas store that was recently built, and they own all of the land on the south side of Lombardi Ave from Marlee Lane to Lambeau Field with the exception of a US Bank branch, which will probably be eventually bought and torn down by the Packers.  All of the land is cleared, but the Packers are yet to announce what they're going to do with the land.  If you want more info, Fox 11 has a special webpage investigating and tracking all of their real estate deals. 

http://fox11online.com/news/fox-11-investigates/fox-11-investigates-packers-land-near-lambeau-field

[mgk920]

It seems like they are everywhere now.  Is there a reason why they seem to use them more than any other state? 

Ahhh, because they work?

Your second example (I-41/Breezewood Ln/Bell St in Neenah) was a GODSEND - traffic was beyond bad at the stop-and-go lights with previous intersections, often requiring two or three cycles to get through them all.  With the roundabouts, about 80% of the time I can now get through them all (SB I-41 to NB Harrison St, the north-south street on the right) without stopping at all.  The traffic numbers are still what they were 'before', if not slightly higher, but the congestion is gone.  Ditto I-41/9th Ave in Oshkosh.



Mike

[The Ghostbuster]

I don't find roundabouts to be so bad. They've been in the Madison-area for a number of years so I'm used to them.

[iBallasticwolf2]

I don't find roundabouts to be so bad. They've been in the Madison-area for a number of years so I'm used to them.

I think they are very good, but in some circumstances they have a large amount of collisions.

[SSOWorld]

The issue with roundabouts is drivers who are afraid to enter the things. Contribution to that can be pointed to by drivers IN the roundabout not signalling if they're going to exit the circle or keep going in it.  WisDOT has a nice "user manual" on roundabouts on their site (I forget where)

[Big John]

^^ Here?  http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/safety/safety-eng/roundabouts/works.aspx

[iBallasticwolf2]

The issue with roundabouts is drivers who are afraid to enter the things. Contribution to that can be pointed to by drivers IN the roundabout not signalling if they're going to exit the circle or keep going in it.  WisDOT has a nice "user manual" on roundabouts on their site (I forget where)

Agreed. It's drivers, not the design usually. The problem is there is no cure for stupid which means overkill design improvements sometimes have to be made.

[lordsutch]

I think the reason is that WisDOT started using them earlier and has gained more confidence with them than other states as a result. Plus Wisconsin tends to have a lot more money to throw around at highways in general than many states do, so since they do a lot of construction anyway roundabouts are naturally part of it.

By contrast, at least in the southeast, roundabouts are still a bit of a novelty that haven't evolved much past the "experiment" stage in many states; GDOT, for example, seems to have accelerated their use but the upcoming August 2015 letting may be the first to actually include two roundabout projects in a single month.

[SEWIGuy]

Ahhh, because they work?

Your second example (I-41/Breezewood Ln/Bell St in Neenah) was a GODSEND - traffic was beyond bad at the stop-and-go lights with previous intersections, often requiring two or three cycles to get through them all.  With the roundabouts, about 80% of the time I can now get through them all (SB I-41 to NB Harrison St, the north-south street on the right) without stopping at all.  The traffic numbers are still what they were 'before', if not slightly higher, but the congestion is gone.  Ditto I-41/9th Ave in Oshkosh.



Mike

Agreed. It's drivers, not the design usually. The problem is there is no cure for stupid which means overkill design improvements sometimes have to be made.

The problem is that they are unfamiliar and many people would rather put up with the familiar and deal with increased traffic congestion as a side affect.  That doesn't make drivers "stupid" however.  Most drivers don't drive huge miles and drive familiar routes.  Making something unfamiliar isn't what people want.

My guess is that in a decade or so these conversations will die down as people get used to them. 

[iBallasticwolf2]

The problem is that they are unfamiliar and many people would rather put up with the familiar and deal with increased traffic congestion as a side affect.  That doesn't make drivers "stupid" however.  Most drivers don't drive huge miles and drive familiar routes.  Making something unfamiliar isn't what people want.

My guess is that in a decade or so these conversations will die down as people get used to them.

I was more so talking about aggressive drivers who plunge through the roundabouts without even thinking about the traffic signs. I do agree with you that the conversations will slowly die down as they are further implemented. I can imagine similar conversations each time a state puts a large amount of roundabouts in.