I think it is amusing how things we dislike
in our own state are lauded in another. Take for instance the Traffic Rotary.
The state law says that motorists approaching rotaries are supposed to
slow down and yield to traffic, then enter and proceed counterclockwise,
exiting when they arrive at their intended route. However, there are always
those drivers that blindly enter the rotary with out yielding and the others
that see it as a race to get in just ahead of you.
On a recent visit from North Georgia,
my father told me that in Georgia, the Department of Transportation was
investigating the use of “roundabouts” to replace 4 way intersections in
heavily congested areas. He was laughing, “ People down there don’t know
what they are doing!” I laughed too and thought that they were crazy to
consider rotaries as well.
I did some research and found a number
of articles that actually promote the use of rotaries. The arguments are
that it would cost less, as new signal lights would cost over $50,000,
and that traffic would move quicker than coming from a dead stop. One Georgia
county official was quoted as saying “ Everybody can just sort of ease
right through.”
Obviously no one from Georgia has had
to fight traffic at the Bourne or Sagamore Rotary the Friday or Monday
of Memorial Day weekend! Most of the studies show rotaries can reduce accidents
by at least half. Defenders also point out that rotaries are attractive
and save electricity and maintenance costs.
The critics complain they can often become
frightening free-for-alls. There was another quote in the Atlanta Constitution,
Georgia’s major daily publication, from a man from here in Massachusetts
who recalled the time he tried to get to a bus stop by crossing through
a rotary. Some cars stopped, others did not. “I was like the roadrunner
trying to get across,” he said. Another man interviewed admits he was confused
when he encountered his first rotary. He went round and round again before
managing to steer his car out of the rotary. On repeated trips, he eventually
got the hang of slowing down and watching to his left as he entered.
Where Georgia is looking to add rotaries
other states are reducing them. New Jersey once had 67 circles, but 30
have been turned into stoplight intersections after too many cars overwhelmed
them. The American Highway Users Alliance called for more funding for synchronized
traffic lights, computerized systems to route traffic and using reversible
commuter lanes and movable barriers during rush hour. There was no mention
of rotaries as a viable solution in this report. I think that if Georgia
goes ahead with building their roundabouts now they will have traffic problems
10 years from now. Anyone who has visited Atlanta over the years last 10
years has seen a significant growth in that area. They are growing too
fast. So, let this be a warning to all of you track junkies. Someday soon
as you are traveling down Highway 53 to Road Atlanta you may be trying
to maneuver your rig though one of Georgia’s new and efficient roundabouts.
Yuk! |
