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Section 2: Benefits of Mini-Roundabouts

Mini-roundabouts are emerging in the United States as a potential intersection type. They may be an optimal solution for a safety or operational issue at an existing stop-controlled or signalized intersection where there is insufficient right-of-way for a standard roundabout installation. Of course, mini-roundabouts are not always feasible or optimal solutions for every problem. The benefits of mini-roundabouts, and some constraining factors (derived largely from international experience, particularly in the U.K., where mini-roundabouts were invented), are described below [4].

Compact size – A mini-roundabout can often be developed to fit within existing right-of-way constraints. Note that mini-roundabouts are generally not recommended for intersections with more than four legs. However, in some cases there may be adequate spacing between legs to allow for two closely-spaced mini-roundabouts

Operational Efficiency – A mini-roundabout may provide less delay for a critical movement or for an overall intersection in comparison to other intersection alternatives. However, as with all roundabout types, mini-roundabouts do not provide explicit priority to specific users such as trains, transit, or emergency vehicles.

Traffic Safety – Mini-roundabouts have been used successfully in the U.K. to improve safety at intersections with known crash problems, with reported crash rate reductions of approximately 30 percent as compared to signalized intersections [5].

Traffic Calming – Designed properly, a mini-roundabout reduces speeds and can be implemented as part of a broader traffic calming scheme. The low-speed environment also enhances the intersection for nonmotorized users. However, mini-roundabouts cannot provide the same level of speed reduction as their larger counterparts and thus are less suited for roadways with speeds exceeding 30 to 35 mph (50 to 55 km/h).

Access Management – A mini-roundabout can be used to provide efficient access to a new or existing development. However, in the cases of large trucks and other large vehicles, the diameter may be too small to accommodate U-turn maneuvers that would be readily accommodated at a larger roundabout.

Aesthetics – In comparison to full-size roundabouts, mini-roundabouts do not allow opportunities for landscaping in the central island. As with comparably sized traditional intersections, landscaping opportunities are limited to the periphery of the intersection.

Environmental Benefits – A mini-roundabout may offer an environmental benefit compared to conventional intersections through reduced delay, fuel consumption, and vehicle emissions.

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While plans for a high speed bus route between Detroit and Pontiac are still on the drawing board, bus rapid transit is a fact of life in a number of U.S. cities, including Cleveland. Freshwater Transit and several other transit advocacy groups organized a trip to Cleveland to give Metro Detroiters a taste of how bus rapid transit is being implemented there. Mode Shift's David Sands went and gave the following account:http://buff.ly/OUfdSl

via wearemodeshift 

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World's first suspended bicycle roundabout in the Netherlands.

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World’s First Suspended Bicycle Roundabout

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How much does a street cost? 

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WHY HAS THIS NOT HAPPENED YET

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Rethinking “parklets” in San Francisco

Since beginning to allow local businesses and community groups to create “parklets” in 2009, San Francisco has pioneered these streetside public spaces in what the city initially called the ”temporary urbanism program.” SF agencies developed a program that allows businesses, nonprofits and property owners to apply for permits to convert adjacent on-street parking into public spaces that are open and accessible, though also removable.

The San Francisco Examiner and Planetizen recently reported on the removal of a parklet that had been criticized as “a haven for homelessness and illegal activity” in the Haight-Ashbury district. Observers have interpreted this episode as reflecting the “growing pains” of this conversion of on-street parking into public spaces. With about 40 parklets now scattered around the city (see photos above), and many more requests all the time, Planning Department officials are said to have learned from this incident and others around the City. 

  Oversight and guidelines now require detailed descriptions of the design and purpose of parklets as part of the application process. A comprehensive packet released late last year by the Planning Department began to codify the city’s policies on this innovative experiment in the creation of small, incremental, locally created public spaces. Other cities around the country have begun to follow suit in efforts to encourage more vibrant public spaces for pedestrians and local businesses. For more on urban and regional issues, see Urban Geographies: Cities of People, Places, and Projects.

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NACTO, Urban Bikeway Design Guide, 2012

http://nacto.org/cities-for-cycling/design-guide/

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The Z Opens

(Hey, at least it's not a surface lot.)

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Metro Detroit Gets Ready to Grow with Transit-Oriented Development

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Freshwater Railway imaginative vision for SE Michigan transit.

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BIKE SPIKE: MORE PROOF THAT RIDERS PREFER PROTECTED LANES

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Bike rack example

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NACTO Street Design Principles

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Design, remix, and share your neighborhood street - all in your browser! Add trees or bike paths, widen sidewalks or traffic lanes, learn how your decisions can impact your community. Then share it!

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‘Walking School Buses’ Picking Up Speed

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bus stop in Montreal