I read with dismay the letter in Thursday's Citizen in opposition to Prince George's one and only roundabout. It is a pity that the writer did not take the time to inform himself about the subject of his letter (e.g., by reading Wikipedia).
Modern roundabouts are safer than stoplight controlled intersections (40 per cent fewer vehicle collisions, 80 per cent fewer injuries, and 90 per cent fewer serious injuries) as they eliminate "T-bone" collisions that occur when a driver turns left at the end of the cycle and the other guy crashes the yellow.
Roundabouts also boast increased efficiency in traffic flow (you don't have to stop) and in environmental benefits (no idling cars, no need for signal hardware and wiring, and no 24/7 consumption of electricity).
Roundabouts are common in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere.
France leads the world with 30,000, and there must be almost as many in the UK, as any search on Google Earth will show. I have personally driven through perhaps hundreds of roundabouts in many of these countries and found them to work very well indeed. They also permit easy U-turns (something very handy for visitors!).
The first roundabout in the U.S. was in Nevada (1990), and now there are many in New York State and elsewhere, bringing the total in the U.S. to 2000. The numbers are increasing rapidly.
Ontario and Alberta have roundabouts and will be building more. Calgary has a roundabout.
In this province, there is an excellent ICBC website on roundabouts, including a great video from Washington State. This video should be required viewing for all drivers.
ICBC is so keen on roundabouts - because of their enhanced safety - that it is (according to a Victoria Times Colonist article) willing to front $100,000 to municipalities to aid conversion.
The cities of Mill Bay, Pemberton, Surrey and Kelowna all have at least one roundabout each; the latter two are in the process of building more.
I urge the writer and others to learn about roundabouts and their many benefits. I also urge him and others not to commit the dangerous practice of driving across the middle.
I also urge the city to construct a barrier in the middle of the roundabout to prevent abuses.
We should also seriously consider constructing more roundabouts.
For example, 5th and Tabor, 15th and Foothills, and Tyner and Ospika.
Bob Nelson
Prince George
