@@redacted6650 no, i checked in my head before i made the comment i’m pretty damn sure they turn right in my country, so they gotta turn left over there 😅
@@redacted6650 Are you from UK/AU/NZ? Because roundabouts turn right only when you drive on the left side of the road, which isn't the case in Indiana
He likes to spend the tax money and use the city's credit. Carmel has a lot of debt now. Only a city of wealthy people can afford a mayor like him. Having said that, the roundabouts are nice, and some of the other things the mayor has pushed on the city are good, but there is a downside to it all. I liked the city the way it was before the mayor came here and all the growth. However, I like the city now with the roundabouts. Unfortunately, though, you need a good income to live in Carmel now.
@@Irishfan lol isn't spending tax money like the job of a mayor? It's perfectly okey to take on debt to build and improve infrastructure, because it will generate long-term benefits and positive externalities even after the mayor retires. Roads arent cheap, you know.
Although they may look a bit intimidating, roundabouts are quite an ingenious invention. And Carmel's mayor sounds like he's just woken up. What a deep voice.
@@RoadGuyRob you should try clapping at the start of the recording, I believe it's basically what Hollywood does with their slates for sound balancing.
As a spaniard used to elevated roundabouts, I can confirm USA "but 1 bridge is cheaper than 2" approach of squishing the circle is just genious, never thought of it and I use one everyday
It seems like the peanut shape is a compromise to work around existing roads being too awkward for a circle/cost/land savings . Can't speak for Spain but the British roundabouts work fine... Until you come across one with traffic lights......
@@bergonius Two full roundabouts connected together (or one big one obviously), for better traffic flow and separation, this is done in other parts of Carmel and is the normal way to do it. maps.app.goo.gl/kEooXSermG8RPUiV6 maps.app.goo.gl/FHjE8oo3xBWEp7R29
You know, that just sounds like the strange concept some countries in the world have. It's called "driving school". It's a place where you learn how to drive a car, know street signs and navigate the streets. ;)
They become fun even, after enough time you realize roundabouts require communication and constant awareness of your surroundings. Full engagement with fellow drivers. Driving as it should be
Traditionally, a highway isn't even a particular road... It is a route often including multiple different roads. The US has limited.access freeways, of course. But we do a pretty poor job at that thing between a street with direct access to places and freeways.
@@flinx There may be a difference in how we call our roads and I just felt the need to point it out since it sounded so weird to me. In Poland highways and expressways are basically the same thing, the former having a speed limit of 140 kph and the latter of 120 kph. Both usually lead around and not through cities. They always have hard shoulders (except for the older parts of the motorways) and never have any at-grade intersections,. There are only interchanges that can only be stituated a few kilometers apart (further apart in the coutryside and closer together near cities, additionally the expressways have shorter required spacings than motorways have). Their begining and end is always marked by a special sign, as in all of Europe. The expressways also differ very slightly in the width of lanes and hard shoulders, which are narrower, they can also have one lane in each direction in some cases (it's rather rare and the speed limit is changed to 100 kph then, as there isn't usually a median in that case). Other than those we have national roads, which are state-maintained, but are almost always single-lane with no median, although there are exceptions and the speed limit is then raised to 100 kph, as opposed to the usual 90 kph. They often lead through the centers of towns and villages or even cities, where the speed limit is 50 kph, as they are usually built-up areas, that is however often not obeyed by the drivers in smaller towns without speed cameras. Voivodeship roads function similarly to national roads, although they are maintained by the voivodeships. Medians and higher amounts of lanes are even rarer on them (with some notable exceptions, like the DTŚ in Upper Silesia).
Been traveling that section of Keystone for almost 30yrs now. These roundabouts were a huge God send. Complete night and day difference. Every where I have been throughout Indianapolis (Marion County) that has put in roundabouts, the traffic moves much more consistent and fluidly... .. minus the handful of people that just can't wrap their heads around them and use them like stops.
Indianapolis has warmed up to modern roundabouts and have been replacing stops with roundabouts. I live near on on the far west side. Also, the other Indy suburbs have been adding massive amounts of roundabouts. Also, the state of Indiana has been building them on some state highways.
The roundabout phobia is a real problem that we need to cure. I love driving in Carmel and would like to see roundabouts in more cities I drive in. Just one hundred and forty miles to the north of Carmel in my hometown where I grew up the state wanted to remove an interchange at the junction of two state highways and replace it with a roundabout. The public opinion was totally against the roundabout, so the state is building a grade intersection with Michigan left turns. I see that as a nightmare. The state gets rid of the cost of the bridges, and the automobile insurance companies get the cost of accidents in the unsafe Michigan Left Turn intersection.
It is, the cure to this is to start small. Find a 4-way stop and replace it with a roundabout. Also, your hometown is going to hate the Michigan Left Turn even more. The one at 96th and Allisonville rd is hated by everyone. I think it may have been a failed experiment as they've been doing construction on it already despite the pavement being in good shape.
Roundabout addiction is a real problem. We have too many roundabouts being put in without proper design with regards to things like visibility and heavy truck traffic. All for a realistically marginal increase in traffic flow and increase in accidents.
Here in Phoenix, people have no idea how to use them. Folks will just stop in the middle of the roundabout to try to let someone in not realizing that the traffic that's in the traffic circle has the right of way.
The real solution would be a single commuter lane walled off from the rest of the road that never stops, but local businesses despise them for bypassing their stores and they can be expensive to build (due to the necessary overpasses/underpasses to be built for cross traffic to pass over.
That's because people there are uncivilised. Come on a trip to Europe and rent a car anywhere and you'll see how much better not having stopsigns is. I come across 4 or 5 in my 30 min commute and it's already almost too annoying.
I used to not be a fan of roundabouts, but I now am. People still drive through them too fast, and some are a bit tight for my semi truck. Crossing as a pedestrian or cyclist can be sketchy at a time's. Even with the flashing pedestrian lights, drivers don't always stop.
Here before someone comments "90% of all planners quit one lane before fixing traffic forever". But yeah it is a good thing that we recognize that road widening doesn't actually fix traffic, it just accommodates more cars. The way to fix traffic is to find ways to make best use of the road space that is available, instead of just widening.
Yes, but also making it easier for people NOT to drive is an important part of what Carmel did - allowing for more biking and walking. For bigger cities, investing in public transportation would be necessary. Most trips in the US are short and don't require cars, even in the suburbs. If we designed cities for people, not cars, we'd get a lot less traffic.
@@louiszhang3050 Yeah and cars use a huge ton of space. There is a reason in the olden days not everyone in the city owned a horse. Not that we don't want cars at all, we just want fewer of them, and we want there to be options for those in the city. People in the countryside may always have to drive, and that's fine, but for people in a city a car is a hassle. People may commute to work by car still, but for shorter trips, if those options are available, they will probably walk, cycle, or take public transit, and the few times they will need a car, they will face decreased traffic congestion and less aggressive drivers.
And alternatives to driving so not everyone needs a massive rolling living room to do anything. The people who just wanna go to the store close by can just take a bicycle and get some exercise in while they're at it.
Awesome to see a mayor willing to go through a jurisdictional transfer. Its' really frustrating that the city where I work we have great ideas for state routes, but no one seems to want to pull the trigger and have that discussion. So we keep pointing the finger at who's to blame when it comes to fatal crashes and design. Well done Carmel!
Awesome video as always Rob! When that lady asked if you were with the news, you should have answered "much more useful, educational videos on TH-cam". We appreciate you man.
@@RoadGuyRobI dunno if it's intentional or not, but you nail the reporter "accent", if that makes sense. It's actually a huge reason that I love your videos though I have no idea why.
Driving up Keystone/37 in Carmel is awesome for everyone. My Doctor is one intersection north of where the roundabouts and 37 going under ends. Traffic is slower there and no sidewalks. It is jarring. Taking a strode under the cross streets seems simple, but is genius. The Carmel/Fishers area is booming because of this and other things. I would surmise that the GDP increase more than covers the costs for an infrastructure project like this.
10:30 this bit of psychology is pretty interesting because the same thing tricks people into thinking that bike and bus lanes are useless they dont see anyone queued up in them(because theyre free flowing) so it looks like there isnt anyone using it
I recognized this Rob. They did the same thing on Hwy 41 and 141 (Underpass triple roundabout) and Hwy 41 and 32 (triple roundabout overpass) in Green Bay, WI.
A strong part of the solution is the grade separation of the busy highway from the rest of the intersection. As most of the traffic is moving straight, it does indeed make little sense to stop everyone from moving just to open up for a little cross traffic. Instead, with the through traffic eliminated, all the low-speed traffic and pedestrians can coalesce up in the barbell.
I am always trying to educate people in my community how we can avoid building wide roads if we use roundabouts instead of traffic lights. Thank you so much for making this excellent video that explains why!
I work in civil engineering for electricity distribution, but I love discussing roadway engineering. Unfortunately my role doesn't translate well, although the concepts of power distribution and transmission can be compared to local streets and interstates.
As an Aussie who grew up just across the tracks from Canberra/ACT - roundabouts made walking my 60kph/37mph residential home streets to/from school (that often had busses going up/down them) safe and comfortable, whilst also allowing the traffic on the main road through town flow smoothly to peal-and-pack at like 80kph/50mph once outside the residential and semi-residential areas. What Memorial Circle was was a (Controlled) Traffic Circle and not a proper Roundabout due to the stop-start nature of the signaled segments it was built with, whilst proper Roundabouts are at-worst a Give Way intersection (though it seems Americans don't know how to use those from what I've seen and read) in terms of traffic control.
We Australians call Give Way the Americans call Yield. Roundabouts work better in Australia because of our "give way to the right" rule which maps into roundabouts. Americans also have "give way to the right" at intersections but roundabouts would need "give way to the left" for the same effect.
Oh and I used to live near the worst intersection in Queensland (corner of Albert St and Station Rd, Bethania) according to RACQ. There was a mix of Give Way and Stop signs and no one could read it. I wish they replaced it with a large roundabout but instead they installed a stupid set of traffic lights. It's ridiculous for a relatively quiet intersection to have to wait 5 minutes at an empty red light!
@@lztx Americans have a "first come, first served" rule. "Priority to the right" is a thing only in some states, and it generally only applies when multiple vehicles arrive at the same time.
Could you explain more on why some traffic lights are on driveways? How do they get setup? Do they need the owner’s consent and need to remake their driveway? What if it has to be there and the owner doesn’t allow it? This may be a stupid question. But it’d be cool if I got an answer
For an upcoming project one of my city engineers touted the benefits to local traffic, citing platoons. They will have more opportunities to turn out of their neighborhood since the cross traffic will be "better distributed into platoons" and I knew what he meant thanks to this TH-cam channel. Good work, Rob!
Grade separation is so incredibly powerful its why we still have minimum spec 2 lane freeways in some very busy cities. yeah they back up, but once the bottleneck is cleared the rest of the freeway clears fast. Unfortunately grade separation is deeply unpopular in urbanist circles, most are just hoping that the efficiency of transit and bikes can make up for the inefficiency of traffic lights.
There has been 3 fatal crashes resulting in 4 fatalities at the 96th and Westfield roundabout in Carmel making it one of the deadliest intersections in the entire state of Indiana. The city of Carmel should really look into tearing down the retaining wall that's in the central island of the roundabout. On several occasions drivers have drove through the middle of the roundabout, hit the retaining wall, and died.
that seems like there's another problem independent of the roundabout. a situation where someone drives through the middle of a roundabout was likely to get someone killed anyway
I just looked at this roundabout using google street view..... all three roads feeding the roundabout curve to the right as you approach the roundabout, if you follow the curve of the road it's literally impossible to end up in the island. Even if you take the curve too wide because you were speeding and/or paying zero attention, you're still not going to hit that wall since there's at least 40 feet (i.e. three to four lane-widths) between the wall and the road where you were _supposed_ to be driving. Did those people literally drive with their eyes closed or something?
I live on the far north side of Indianapolis, just a few blocks south of Carmel. I love what Jim Brainard did there. It took real vision. It's such a nice place to be. Now, the downside of Carmel is it's very expensive (for Indiana) and not very diverse. Carmel is kind of a playground for the rich, but there's no reason a real city like Indianapolis couldn't be at least as urban as Carmel. I can't believe my city sued to prevent roundabouts. There's so much evidence that they're safer and make traffic flow better. I drive on 96th Street fairly regularly these days, and the roundabouts are great.
Rob, you made a critical point, and that is that overpasses can actually improve the quality of life. NY Route 347 could have had a plan like this, but NYSDOT caved in to pressure to create an urban boulevard, rather than use a modified freeway. Our group urged NYSDOT to rethink its plan by adopting what we called a greenway approach using overpasses similar to those on NY parkways. NYSDOT did take on the idea of using overpasses and instead widened the road to three lanes, and widened intersections to accommodate two left turning lanes in each direction. An opportunity missed due to anti-highway hysteria.
Great video, you touched on a lot of different topics in the engineering world that I had not heard of before. Platoons? Such a cute name for something so inefficient!
Just south of Indy on SR 37, it's getting upgraded to I-69, and every single new interchange is a roundabout (including a peanut shaped one right near me). I'd never seen a roundabout interchange before and was wondering how INDOT knew they'd work so well, and this seems to be the answer! Thanks RGR!
there are some roads in the UK that are literally *two directional roads, with no shoulder, and no verge, just hedges either side* 16-18 feet wide, with 8 or 9 feet lanes and people drive upwards of 40,50,60 mph on them... sometimes even more!
@@jerviservi I think what he means is that the whole road is that wide, remember it has 2 lanes so that would make the lanes 8/9ft wide. UK roads can even get smaller with 1 lane, bi-directional and you can still do national speed limit on them.
If you are ever in the state of Georgia area, we have a crap ton of traffic. Traffic lights not staying green long enough and to many vehicles on the road is mainly to blame.
This was a really great video dude! Follow a lot of urbanist youtubers and roundabouts aren't a huge topic so these videos have been really great to watch. I would have loved to see more of the simulation and also would have liked to know what happened to all of the $100 million, if the roundabout bridge was only a fraction of that. Imagine being a mayor that said, "Oh hey btw I just made our city $80+ million."
Roundabouts affect every vehicle every time. They are better than 4-way stops in most cases, mainly neighborhoods where the traffic is local. Single lane roundabouts are preferred as multiple lane roundabouts become a circus (try driving in The Villages).. Watching semis trying to navigate these expensive concrete monsters is painful and the trucks have to almost stop to get thru and they often have to go into other lanes due to their size. Yes they may lower the worst accidents but they certainly don't reduce all accidents. Slowing and accelerating by every vehicle also creates more fuel usage and air pollution. Why do the people's representatives push these on an unwilling public?
In Colorado, we have interrupted flow on our freeways where speeders catch up to themselves and clump up to the slowest speeder, when they reach a critical mass, the freeway slows down below the speed limit in those platoons caused by the 'stickiness' of speeding cars. It's such a strange thing to see happen.
I drove Lyft in Indianapolis for 5 years, the biggest issue I ever had with the roundabouts in Hamilton county was almost getting hit by people who had no idea how they worked. I have had at least 15 separate incidents of grandmas driving the wrong way in the roundabout and almost hitting me head on
If 4 things happen in the USA, it will become a city thateverybody will love. 1) Make actual highways that run around cities, not inside them, interchanges not intersections. 2) Public transportation = walking, biking, bus lanes, buses, trains, trams, metros. 3) Fix you zoning rules. 4) ROUNDABOUTS and ROUNDABOUTS
@@Irishfan nah, well-designed, well maintained public transport helps on all fronts. In fact, motorist should be more for it since it would reduce traffic. Sure, you suffer from smelly armpits, but you gained time to read, and any other things you wouldn't be able to while driving... and if you take Uber, it's a lot better for your wallet...
@@Irishfan you need good public transportation, not the type of public transportation a lot of places have in the US right now. if you have public transportation that does this, it will be a benefit for the city: - connect the places where people live, work and like to visit (like the area's with restaurants, pubs etc). - don't be expensive - have a good schedule. not 4 buses a day, but at least 2 an hour. - in busy places give them their own lanes. this makes them reliable and faster than car traffic. not everyone can drive, or even wants to drive a car. and for those people good (or even decent) public transportation is often the only good way to get somewhere. and during your commute using (for example) a train of bus you're able to do loads of stuff. while if you have to drive you lose that time sitting and having to pay attention to the traffic around you.
Even a state like mine, North Dakota, is recognizing how awesome roundabouts are. We just rebuilt about 4 miles of a 2 lane rural road into a 4 lane city street. 2 miles had conventional stoplights, the other 2 miles had only roundabouts. Guess which side flows better?
This is what kills me about our society. Every problem has already been had and a solution has been found. The only reason we continue to have problems is because of a failure to implement the known solutions.
You could tell me the solution was a roundabout in the beginning of the video and I would still be surprised by the final implementation, it just looks so good and its makes so much sense
People are coming around to them in Indy. Keystone Ave was long known for having horrible traffic, so it's really hard to deny the success. Also, we used to pick up materials in Carmel for my old job in an F350 with a big trailer, so if you can't get around these roundabouts in your truck, it's a skill issue.
@@joshuaneilson No they generally don't. Worse still is that every municipality thinks it's a good idea to put a towering planter that no rig or car can see over in the center so you get a happy little surprise that there is traffic in the circle. That's before you get to the accidents. There is a severe disconnect between what the stated numbers are verses reality but of course you aren't supposed to talk about that.
@@Hybris51129 Now that you mention it, that’s true. Despite cars being lower, and therefore visibility beyond that being worse, we don’t think much of it because we’re not carrying 50 foot trailers and therefore don’t need to see that far. Maybe it would work better if civil engineers were required to have experience as truck drivers?
A friend was visiting from South Korea and she listed many benefits but when she said 'If no one else is at it you do not have to stop. SOLD on the idea then and there. Another benefit of the modern roundabout - you don't have to worry about beating the red light and sitting there for 4 or 5 minutes like the mayor said. No red light, no need to speed through as quickly as possible.
I would love to see a video on the variety of roundabouts, with a focus on adaptive designs or temporary infrastructure. Some allow large vehicles to drive over the center circle while others are simply flower pots and signs. I’d love to see more micro-roundabouts in residential areas! We need traffic calming in suburbia QUICKLY.
I used to live in Bend, which loves roundabouts almost as much as Carmel. Don't live there anymore, I miss it, driving there could be so easy. So much wasted time at lights, even on smaller streets. We have a big highway like that in Meridian, ID (ID-55) that could really use some grade separation.
Why don’t the traffic lights have sensors under the asphalt? Where I live I always hit green lights (especially at night), if there’s no other traffic. Or if it’s just one car that wan’t to cross the road I’m traveling, it will be a very short green light for them, which means I get a green light much faster.
Thanks for making this video and explaining it so clearly. I mean this just describes city driving to a T. Half of the road is full, half is empty, half of your trip is moving, half is stopped in a parking lot at a red light. Making more lanes when you don't or can't fix the obstructions to the flow is just making bigger parking lots at bigger and more complex traffic lights that they program to stay red longer and longer. The conversations around the width of the roads just pits people against each other when the "solution" doesn't even work (except if you happen to own a road construction company).
I live on a small island with two lane roads everywhere. We've added roundabouts at a lot of intersections except the ones that are desperately needed. There's a few square road people, that are holding it up. It's crazy in every intersection they put one in, it's instantly eliminated all the traffic(for that intersection). But people just don't like them....
We need to start signaling when we intend to exit a roundabout. The main issue that drivers have with building more roundabouts is them being intimidating. When waiting for your turn at a roundabout, it can be difficult to know if the car coming around the roundabout is going to exit before you, or if the car is going to continue to the next exit. That problem is easily solved by signaling which exit you intend to use. Let’s start doing it!
An interesting topic I would recommend is what North Texas has been doing to some of the traffic heavy junctions to improve flow. Check out the junction of Texas 635 and 121, how going east bound, 121 splits into two roads, the right road where the ramp from 625 joins, then the right road splits again with the left half going north, and the right half travelling around the second junction to rejoin 121. At first it seemed like it would be a nightmare, but it made merging from 635 to 121 so safe and simple. Before, you'd have to fight people trying to leave 121, to go North, if you were coming from 635 trying to get on 121, to go East.
This reminds me of Singapore's large roads like the Pan Island Expressway (PIE). Almost no lights (no roundabouts either, though) anf traffic is uninterrupted. Pedestrains and cyclists dont have it so good, though - there are overhead bridges, sometimes with ramps, that they ascend to cross these roads.
I have never been to Indianapolis or even anywhere in Indiana as a commercial flight stop, but good Lord with the roundabouts. Tried looking to see if you already did a video on one of the worst highways in the northeastern United States and no luck. I have been a subscriber to your channel and it is very informative! If you come here to Philadelphia, you should do a video on just how insane this highway nicknamed the "Surekill" really is!
Your videos are worth the wait!! Do I wish you posted every few days and had this same quality and time on each? YUP! But that would take a big team and you doing nothing but reading scripts while your team does editing, camera, and scripts. lol... Your research for every video is awesome and the way you explain everything is great. I've always been facinated with roads and roadway engineering since I was a kid. I just had no idea how to get into that industry.
I so agree with your statement "if you're gonna make somebody climb back the hill, might as well be the person with an engine" And I have been thinking it silently every time I had to face it. And if you do it well with the inertia and mass of vehicles it can be not costly at all on gas.
I think the first time I’ve seen one of these was in Sweden. In Germany we usually just put two regular roundabouts at the sides and then a bridge connecting them. So the bridge isn’t part of the roundabouts. I feel like the bone shape works better in keeping traffic moving but it’s worse if there is a sizable amount of traffic neither crossing nor entering the highway and just wanting to continue on the same side they are already on. Because to get to the exit on your left you have to cross the bridge twice.
As a Brit who's also lived in California and visited other parts of the USA, I find it baffling how many traffic lights there are on American highways. Roundabouts and judicious grade separation just make roads so much nicer to drive on.
Rob, this has been a great series so far, I absolutely love this stuff! Next time I'm passing through Indiana I'm going to make my way to Carmel just to see all this great stuff in action.
That one is a weird one. It does its job: warn drivers they are entering town and need to slow down and not mow down the locals. But the transition is pretty jarring. The good news is Arizona DOT's route for the future I-11 (which will take over US-93) routes the new freeway away from the roundabout entirely.
One lane roundabouts are super easy to get through. I love one lane roundabouts! Wait your turn to get on, drive around, and get off when you want without any conflicts. Often, you don't even have to stop or even slow down. Wonderful! OTOH, two lane roundabouts are a nightmare because you have to be in the correct lane and cut across lanes to leave if you're on the inner circle. Cutting across lanes all of a sudden on the highway is a leading cause of wrecks, but you're expected to do exactly that on a two lane roundabout. I despise two-lane roundabouts with a passion!
The trick to using traditional multi lane roundabouts: If you're in the right lane, don't pass from the right. If you're in the left lane, speed up to stay ahead of cars in the right lane. This way cars can exit from the left lane without crashing. Unfortunately no one understands this, so now we build turbo roundabouts instead when more than 1 lane is needed.
@@FullLengthInterstates That sounds kind'a complicated. Even if I know the rules, most other people won't. That's the problem. And let me ask you this. If I want to make a "left" turn, I have to be in the left lane, correct? That puts me in the inner circle in the roundabout, right? How do I get out of the roundabout at my exit without crossing over the outer circle?
@@fredashay my description was assuming right hand traffic/ left hand drive. its not complicated, and yeah you do have to cross the outer lane to exit - you just have to step on the gas pedal to stay ahead of cars in the outer lane. its not the most comfortable maneuver depending on how fast other cars are going, but most cars with a normal center of gravity, normal tires and normal road conditions can achieve this safely. modern turbo roundabouts solve this problem by having all outer lanes exit, so that only the inner-most lane loops. Turbo roundabouts use some clever markings so that both roads get multiple through lanes.
In my country (Russia) it's even worse because you're only allowed to exit from the rightmost lane. You're allowed to enter from any lane though. So the only reason to use the inner lanes is to overtake. Needless to say, many drivers ignore this rule and exit from the inner lane, sometimes resulting in crashes. Some drivers take advantage of this and intentionally drive in circles in the rightmost lane, until someone exits from the wrong lane - then they intentionally hit them, in hopes they'll get compensation money (which they often do). However, there is hope. Some roundabouts use lane control signs to override the default rule. And some places have introduced "turbo roundabouts" which eliminate lane-changing altogether.
Valparaiso, Indiana did something very similar with Indiana State Rd 49 at Vale Park Rd on a smaller scale, and it definitely helps with traffic flow and you frequently see people walking or biking over the freeway bridge and across the roundabouts. I hope the city eventually does the same thing at the two busy intersections north of it and the busy intersection at LaPorte Rd/Indiana SR-2 as well.
I've got a squished roundabout near me, which was selected instead of the diverging diamond, and I'm so happy with that choice. The only downside is the sight lines for traffic exiting the interstate to the circle that is looking for cars coming from the overpass. For small car drivers, it's hard to see vehicles coming from over the "hill" (overpass).
Indianapolis hating traffic circles seems ironic given ‘cars driving round a left turning oval’ is their whole thing.
Biggest export is irony
Underrated comment
@@redacted6650 no, i checked in my head before i made the comment i’m pretty damn sure they turn right in my country, so they gotta turn left over there 😅
@@redacted6650 Are you from UK/AU/NZ? Because roundabouts turn right only when you drive on the left side of the road, which isn't the case in Indiana
they got an infield course 😆
This mayor is precious. If only every city had someone like him in charge
He likes to spend the tax money and use the city's credit. Carmel has a lot of debt now. Only a city of wealthy people can afford a mayor like him. Having said that, the roundabouts are nice, and some of the other things the mayor has pushed on the city are good, but there is a downside to it all. I liked the city the way it was before the mayor came here and all the growth. However, I like the city now with the roundabouts. Unfortunately, though, you need a good income to live in Carmel now.
@@Irishfan lol isn't spending tax money like the job of a mayor? It's perfectly okey to take on debt to build and improve infrastructure, because it will generate long-term benefits and positive externalities even after the mayor retires. Roads arent cheap, you know.
I like, how he really understands "more roads mean more cars".
@@bergonius"No spend! Only tax cuts!"
It costs more because it's more desirable
Although they may look a bit intimidating, roundabouts are quite an ingenious invention. And Carmel's mayor sounds like he's just woken up. What a deep voice.
A few times I had to adjust the equalization in the video editing software. Guy could've been a radio DJ instead of a mayor.
@@RoadGuyRob you should try clapping at the start of the recording, I believe it's basically what Hollywood does with their slates for sound balancing.
@@RoadGuyRob but then we wouldn't have someone making such a big impact here in the Midwest thanks to common sense.
They come with the genius concept of yield, which one isn't required to completely stop.
@@PrograError clapping is for synchronizing the audio and video together, not balancing or equalization.
As a spaniard used to elevated roundabouts, I can confirm USA "but 1 bridge is cheaper than 2" approach of squishing the circle is just genious, never thought of it and I use one everyday
Plus the great thing about that is that it allows you to retrofit an interchange that used to be a diamond.
It's like a Michigan Left but on an overpass with no stoplights!
It seems like the peanut shape is a compromise to work around existing roads being too awkward for a circle/cost/land savings .
Can't speak for Spain but the British roundabouts work fine... Until you come across one with traffic lights......
@@Emotional_Support_Twink I fail to see what they are giving up for it to be a compromise
@@bergonius Two full roundabouts connected together (or one big one obviously), for better traffic flow and separation, this is done in other parts of Carmel and is the normal way to do it.
maps.app.goo.gl/kEooXSermG8RPUiV6
maps.app.goo.gl/FHjE8oo3xBWEp7R29
Roundabouts aren’t really difficult to navigate once you’ve been through a few.
You know, that just sounds like the strange concept some countries in the world have. It's called "driving school". It's a place where you learn how to drive a car, know street signs and navigate the streets. ;)
They become fun even, after enough time you realize roundabouts require communication and constant awareness of your surroundings. Full engagement with fellow drivers. Driving as it should be
@@steemlenn8797 the US has driving schools too, except it's not obligatory before getting the licence
Their even easier for fully autonomous vehicles. Which is where technology is going.
@@erkinalp And state funding for drivers education has fallen off a cliff compared to decades past
As a Pole it blows my mind that a road with traffic lights and at-grade intersections can be called a highway or an expressway.
Well if those traffic lights weren't there you'd be out of a job!
Does Poland have freeways as a separate category from highways? Or are Polish highways what Americans call freeways?
Interstates must be grade separated, but US/State/County Routes (also sometimes called Highways) can be at-grade.
Traditionally, a highway isn't even a particular road... It is a route often including multiple different roads.
The US has limited.access freeways, of course. But we do a pretty poor job at that thing between a street with direct access to places and freeways.
@@flinx
There may be a difference in how we call our roads and I just felt the need to point it out since it sounded so weird to me.
In Poland highways and expressways are basically the same thing, the former having a speed limit of 140 kph and the latter of 120 kph. Both usually lead around and not through cities. They always have hard shoulders (except for the older parts of the motorways) and never have any at-grade intersections,. There are only interchanges that can only be stituated a few kilometers apart (further apart in the coutryside and closer together near cities, additionally the expressways have shorter required spacings than motorways have). Their begining and end is always marked by a special sign, as in all of Europe. The expressways also differ very slightly in the width of lanes and hard shoulders, which are narrower, they can also have one lane in each direction in some cases (it's rather rare and the speed limit is changed to 100 kph then, as there isn't usually a median in that case).
Other than those we have national roads, which are state-maintained, but are almost always single-lane with no median, although there are exceptions and the speed limit is then raised to 100 kph, as opposed to the usual 90 kph. They often lead through the centers of towns and villages or even cities, where the speed limit is 50 kph, as they are usually built-up areas, that is however often not obeyed by the drivers in smaller towns without speed cameras.
Voivodeship roads function similarly to national roads, although they are maintained by the voivodeships. Medians and higher amounts of lanes are even rarer on them (with some notable exceptions, like the DTŚ in Upper Silesia).
Thanks for keeping the public informed on infrastructure!
Happy to! And thanks for your support, @XxXenosxX! (Hope I types that right! A lot of Xs!)
Been traveling that section of Keystone for almost 30yrs now. These roundabouts were a huge God send. Complete night and day difference. Every where I have been throughout Indianapolis (Marion County) that has put in roundabouts, the traffic moves much more consistent and fluidly... .. minus the handful of people that just can't wrap their heads around them and use them like stops.
Indianapolis has warmed up to modern roundabouts and have been replacing stops with roundabouts. I live near on on the far west side. Also, the other Indy suburbs have been adding massive amounts of roundabouts. Also, the state of Indiana has been building them on some state highways.
Crazy what one mayor can do, he started a chain of events of roundabouts
The roundabout phobia is a real problem that we need to cure. I love driving in Carmel and would like to see roundabouts in more cities I drive in. Just one hundred and forty miles to the north of Carmel in my hometown where I grew up the state wanted to remove an interchange at the junction of two state highways and replace it with a roundabout. The public opinion was totally against the roundabout, so the state is building a grade intersection with Michigan left turns. I see that as a nightmare. The state gets rid of the cost of the bridges, and the automobile insurance companies get the cost of accidents in the unsafe Michigan Left Turn intersection.
I know what you’re talking about! The U.S. 12/M-51 intersection in Niles…
It is, the cure to this is to start small. Find a 4-way stop and replace it with a roundabout.
Also, your hometown is going to hate the Michigan Left Turn even more. The one at 96th and Allisonville rd is hated by everyone. I think it may have been a failed experiment as they've been doing construction on it already despite the pavement being in good shape.
Roundabout addiction is a real problem. We have too many roundabouts being put in without proper design with regards to things like visibility and heavy truck traffic. All for a realistically marginal increase in traffic flow and increase in accidents.
Here in Phoenix, people have no idea how to use them. Folks will just stop in the middle of the roundabout to try to let someone in not realizing that the traffic that's in the traffic circle has the right of way.
@@photoniccannon2117That means they're treating it like a rotary then.
Your channel is top notch. Thank you for not incorporating ads into your videos! Excellent work.
Yeah i really love how he only incorporates 2 ads max in his videos
It's a privilege made possible by the 600 contributors on Patreon and viewers like you. Thank you, @thatjpwing!
Yes, TH-cam ads still run (they need to be paid for the video hosting they provide). But I try to limit them as much as I can.
“Just one more lane bro”
"Induced Demand" aka economic growth 😅
@@McfunfaceNo.
@@mcrichards694 Great refutation. Really persuasive.
@@Mcfunface Thx I agree.
Wonderfully presented, thank you Rob!
You're welcome. Glad you liked it.
That was a very clever fix. Carmel, IN is doing stuff right. They've got some great engineers and urban planners.
The real solution would be a single commuter lane walled off from the rest of the road that never stops, but local businesses despise them for bypassing their stores and they can be expensive to build (due to the necessary overpasses/underpasses to be built for cross traffic to pass over.
roundabouts are basically the simplest intersection type ever, i really dont get why people hate them so much
If poorly designed, they don't work well. A previous video described some important design aspects to make them work well.
for the same reason zipper mergers work best but people hate them; humans don't play by the rules
That's because people there are uncivilised. Come on a trip to Europe and rent a car anywhere and you'll see how much better not having stopsigns is. I come across 4 or 5 in my 30 min commute and it's already almost too annoying.
I used to not be a fan of roundabouts, but I now am.
People still drive through them too fast, and some are a bit tight for my semi truck. Crossing as a pedestrian or cyclist can be sketchy at a time's. Even with the flashing pedestrian lights, drivers don't always stop.
Bad design is usually the culprit, especially if it's in a place that hasn't built many (or any) roundabouts
That's one great mayor!
Finally part two is here🥳🎉
Up next: PART THREE. (It's accidentally turning into the "summer of roundabouts," but I've got so much material to still share!)
@@RoadGuyRobWhatever it takes to give the subject well “rounded” coverage.
Here before someone comments "90% of all planners quit one lane before fixing traffic forever". But yeah it is a good thing that we recognize that road widening doesn't actually fix traffic, it just accommodates more cars. The way to fix traffic is to find ways to make best use of the road space that is available, instead of just widening.
That or "just one more lane bro"
Yes, but also making it easier for people NOT to drive is an important part of what Carmel did - allowing for more biking and walking. For bigger cities, investing in public transportation would be necessary. Most trips in the US are short and don't require cars, even in the suburbs. If we designed cities for people, not cars, we'd get a lot less traffic.
@@louiszhang3050 Yeah and cars use a huge ton of space. There is a reason in the olden days not everyone in the city owned a horse. Not that we don't want cars at all, we just want fewer of them, and we want there to be options for those in the city. People in the countryside may always have to drive, and that's fine, but for people in a city a car is a hassle. People may commute to work by car still, but for shorter trips, if those options are available, they will probably walk, cycle, or take public transit, and the few times they will need a car, they will face decreased traffic congestion and less aggressive drivers.
And alternatives to driving so not everyone needs a massive rolling living room to do anything. The people who just wanna go to the store close by can just take a bicycle and get some exercise in while they're at it.
Just one more interchange bro
Awesome to see a mayor willing to go through a jurisdictional transfer. Its' really frustrating that the city where I work we have great ideas for state routes, but no one seems to want to pull the trigger and have that discussion. So we keep pointing the finger at who's to blame when it comes to fatal crashes and design. Well done Carmel!
Fun fact Carmel is the first place in the United States to have a traffic light. You can find a little placard on Main Street
Watch Rob's video before this one, Part 1 of this series.
We have done this circle up in the air in Auckland New Zealand - seems to work quite well in tight locations!
Drove across the country alone the roundabout highway interchanges were wonderful
Awesome video as always Rob! When that lady asked if you were with the news, you should have answered "much more useful, educational videos on TH-cam". We appreciate you man.
I feel like I'm a low-wage local TV reporter - except my market is a TOPIC instead of a CITY.
@@RoadGuyRobI dunno if it's intentional or not, but you nail the reporter "accent", if that makes sense. It's actually a huge reason that I love your videos though I have no idea why.
the title and thumbnail should maybe be more about the new bridge type
like "This bridge changes EVERYTHING you know about intersections"
100%
The same great video, just now with 100% more clickbait!
Driving up Keystone/37 in Carmel is awesome for everyone. My Doctor is one intersection north of where the roundabouts and 37 going under ends. Traffic is slower there and no sidewalks. It is jarring. Taking a strode under the cross streets seems simple, but is genius. The Carmel/Fishers area is booming because of this and other things. I would surmise that the GDP increase more than covers the costs for an infrastructure project like this.
Never would have thought to see you right next to my home town Rob! Thanks for sharing the stories and history about it that I never knew!
10:30 this bit of psychology is pretty interesting because the same thing tricks people into thinking that bike and bus lanes are useless
they dont see anyone queued up in them(because theyre free flowing) so it looks like there isnt anyone using it
I recognized this Rob. They did the same thing on Hwy 41 and 141 (Underpass triple roundabout) and Hwy 41 and 32 (triple roundabout overpass) in Green Bay, WI.
A strong part of the solution is the grade separation of the busy highway from the rest of the intersection. As most of the traffic is moving straight, it does indeed make little sense to stop everyone from moving just to open up for a little cross traffic. Instead, with the through traffic eliminated, all the low-speed traffic and pedestrians can coalesce up in the barbell.
I’ve been watching TH-cam basically nonstop for the past ten years. This is one of the best videos I’ve ever seen.
I am always trying to educate people in my community how we can avoid building wide roads if we use roundabouts instead of traffic lights. Thank you so much for making this excellent video that explains why!
I used to think that of all the engineers, civil engineers, must have the most boring of jobs.
Your videos have completely changed my mind.
It is a 50-50 mix. Sometimes it is boring, and sometimes it's fun and exciting.
I work in civil engineering for electricity distribution, but I love discussing roadway engineering. Unfortunately my role doesn't translate well, although the concepts of power distribution and transmission can be compared to local streets and interstates.
Decisions like this that quietly save lives are under appreciated
Another Banger, Robert! Thank you for always including a holistic perspective and the pedestrian experience!
This is my favorite interchange in cities skylines.
As an Aussie who grew up just across the tracks from Canberra/ACT - roundabouts made walking my 60kph/37mph residential home streets to/from school (that often had busses going up/down them) safe and comfortable, whilst also allowing the traffic on the main road through town flow smoothly to peal-and-pack at like 80kph/50mph once outside the residential and semi-residential areas.
What Memorial Circle was was a (Controlled) Traffic Circle and not a proper Roundabout due to the stop-start nature of the signaled segments it was built with, whilst proper Roundabouts are at-worst a Give Way intersection (though it seems Americans don't know how to use those from what I've seen and read) in terms of traffic control.
We Australians call Give Way the Americans call Yield.
Roundabouts work better in Australia because of our "give way to the right" rule which maps into roundabouts. Americans also have "give way to the right" at intersections but roundabouts would need "give way to the left" for the same effect.
Oh and I used to live near the worst intersection in Queensland (corner of Albert St and Station Rd, Bethania) according to RACQ. There was a mix of Give Way and Stop signs and no one could read it. I wish they replaced it with a large roundabout but instead they installed a stupid set of traffic lights. It's ridiculous for a relatively quiet intersection to have to wait 5 minutes at an empty red light!
@@lztx Americans have a "first come, first served" rule. "Priority to the right" is a thing only in some states, and it generally only applies when multiple vehicles arrive at the same time.
Rob, I liked how, at the end, you teased what you'd have in your next video. Great work as always.
I just love the roundabout way Rob makes these videos...
This is called a double teardrop roundabout. And PennDOT is building a bunch of them!
Could you explain more on why some traffic lights are on driveways? How do they get setup? Do they need the owner’s consent and need to remake their driveway? What if it has to be there and the owner doesn’t allow it? This may be a stupid question. But it’d be cool if I got an answer
For an upcoming project one of my city engineers touted the benefits to local traffic, citing platoons. They will have more opportunities to turn out of their neighborhood since the cross traffic will be "better distributed into platoons" and I knew what he meant thanks to this TH-cam channel. Good work, Rob!
Grade separation is so incredibly powerful its why we still have minimum spec 2 lane freeways in some very busy cities. yeah they back up, but once the bottleneck is cleared the rest of the freeway clears fast. Unfortunately grade separation is deeply unpopular in urbanist circles, most are just hoping that the efficiency of transit and bikes can make up for the inefficiency of traffic lights.
There has been 3 fatal crashes resulting in 4 fatalities at the 96th and Westfield roundabout in Carmel making it one of the deadliest intersections in the entire state of Indiana. The city of Carmel should really look into tearing down the retaining wall that's in the central island of the roundabout. On several occasions drivers have drove through the middle of the roundabout, hit the retaining wall, and died.
I can't find a street named Westfield.
@@kempo_95 Westfield Blvd & E 96th St. paste that into google maps and it should take you to the roundabout in question.
that seems like there's another problem independent of the roundabout. a situation where someone drives through the middle of a roundabout was likely to get someone killed anyway
@@kempo_95 Boulevard
I just looked at this roundabout using google street view..... all three roads feeding the roundabout curve to the right as you approach the roundabout, if you follow the curve of the road it's literally impossible to end up in the island. Even if you take the curve too wide because you were speeding and/or paying zero attention, you're still not going to hit that wall since there's at least 40 feet (i.e. three to four lane-widths) between the wall and the road where you were _supposed_ to be driving. Did those people literally drive with their eyes closed or something?
This guy is becoming notjustbikes but palatable to the average american and I'm 1000% here for it
Nah, hes not an insufferable Scandinavian urban fetishist like NJB.
I live on the far north side of Indianapolis, just a few blocks south of Carmel.
I love what Jim Brainard did there. It took real vision.
It's such a nice place to be. Now, the downside of Carmel is it's very expensive (for Indiana) and not very diverse. Carmel is kind of a playground for the rich, but there's no reason a real city like Indianapolis couldn't be at least as urban as Carmel.
I can't believe my city sued to prevent roundabouts. There's so much evidence that they're safer and make traffic flow better.
I drive on 96th Street fairly regularly these days, and the roundabouts are great.
Rob, you made a critical point, and that is that overpasses can actually improve the quality of life. NY Route 347 could have had a plan like this, but NYSDOT caved in to pressure to create an urban boulevard, rather than use a modified freeway. Our group urged NYSDOT to rethink its plan by adopting what we called a greenway approach using overpasses similar to those on NY parkways. NYSDOT did take on the idea of using overpasses and instead widened the road to three lanes, and widened intersections to accommodate two left turning lanes in each direction. An opportunity missed due to anti-highway hysteria.
Great video, you touched on a lot of different topics in the engineering world that I had not heard of before. Platoons? Such a cute name for something so inefficient!
They need to do this in my city im tired of the traffic!
Just south of Indy on SR 37, it's getting upgraded to I-69, and every single new interchange is a roundabout (including a peanut shaped one right near me). I'd never seen a roundabout interchange before and was wondering how INDOT knew they'd work so well, and this seems to be the answer! Thanks RGR!
there are some roads in the UK that are literally *two directional roads, with no shoulder, and no verge, just hedges either side* 16-18 feet wide, with 8 or 9 feet lanes and people drive upwards of 40,50,60 mph on them... sometimes even more!
Whats the problem with that. You really only need 10 feet width to go 60+mph
@@jerviservi I think what he means is that the whole road is that wide, remember it has 2 lanes so that would make the lanes 8/9ft wide. UK roads can even get smaller with 1 lane, bi-directional and you can still do national speed limit on them.
Americans would not call those "roundabouts".
@@traffic.engineer ?
@@speeder579 yes i do mean this
Come a little south, to Evansville, IN and help out the Lloyd Expressway!
i think i just fell in love with a public official! a competent mayor😮😮😍😍
Fantastic video!
Pacing, cinematography, details - and most importantly content were great!
Didn't know I could be so enraptured it!
We live just north of Carmel. Live the roundabouts. Sure it's a learning curve. But once you know where to go it's great.
A roundabout above or below is how the vast majority of UK motorway junctions work.
This is the first person in politics that I would immediately lay my life down for. He needs to have more power
i really appreciate the 2000s commercial energy of this video
nice vid, keep up the good work.
Will do, thanks!
If you are ever in the state of Georgia area, we have a crap ton of traffic. Traffic lights not staying green long enough and to many vehicles on the road is mainly to blame.
I wish more politicians at the federal level were this thoughtful, forward thinking and dedicated to actual civil service to make lives better.
Carmel is the best city in Indiana no doubt. Great walkability through the downtown and great city trails too.
This was a really great video dude! Follow a lot of urbanist youtubers and roundabouts aren't a huge topic so these videos have been really great to watch.
I would have loved to see more of the simulation and also would have liked to know what happened to all of the $100 million, if the roundabout bridge was only a fraction of that. Imagine being a mayor that said, "Oh hey btw I just made our city $80+ million."
Roundabouts affect every vehicle every time. They are better than 4-way stops in most cases, mainly neighborhoods where the traffic is local. Single lane roundabouts are preferred as multiple lane roundabouts become a circus (try driving in The Villages).. Watching semis trying to navigate these expensive concrete monsters is painful and the trucks have to almost stop to get thru and they often have to go into other lanes due to their size. Yes they may lower the worst accidents but they certainly don't reduce all accidents. Slowing and accelerating by every vehicle also creates more fuel usage and air pollution. Why do the people's representatives push these on an unwilling public?
In Colorado, we have interrupted flow on our freeways where speeders catch up to themselves and clump up to the slowest speeder, when they reach a critical mass, the freeway slows down below the speed limit in those platoons caused by the 'stickiness' of speeding cars. It's such a strange thing to see happen.
I drove Lyft in Indianapolis for 5 years, the biggest issue I ever had with the roundabouts in Hamilton county was almost getting hit by people who had no idea how they worked.
I have had at least 15 separate incidents of grandmas driving the wrong way in the roundabout and almost hitting me head on
If 4 things happen in the USA, it will become a city thateverybody will love.
1) Make actual highways that run around cities, not inside them, interchanges not intersections.
2) Public transportation = walking, biking, bus lanes, buses, trains, trams, metros.
3) Fix you zoning rules.
4) ROUNDABOUTS and ROUNDABOUTS
I am not in agreement with number 2. I take it you don't use public transportation or you wouldn't be in favor of it.
@@Irishfan nah, well-designed, well maintained public transport helps on all fronts. In fact, motorist should be more for it since it would reduce traffic. Sure, you suffer from smelly armpits, but you gained time to read, and any other things you wouldn't be able to while driving... and if you take Uber, it's a lot better for your wallet...
@@Irishfan you need good public transportation, not the type of public transportation a lot of places have in the US right now.
if you have public transportation that does this, it will be a benefit for the city:
- connect the places where people live, work and like to visit (like the area's with restaurants, pubs etc).
- don't be expensive
- have a good schedule. not 4 buses a day, but at least 2 an hour.
- in busy places give them their own lanes. this makes them reliable and faster than car traffic.
not everyone can drive, or even wants to drive a car. and for those people good (or even decent) public transportation is often the only good way to get somewhere.
and during your commute using (for example) a train of bus you're able to do loads of stuff. while if you have to drive you lose that time sitting and having to pay attention to the traffic around you.
Even a state like mine, North Dakota, is recognizing how awesome roundabouts are. We just rebuilt about 4 miles of a 2 lane rural road into a 4 lane city street. 2 miles had conventional stoplights, the other 2 miles had only roundabouts. Guess which side flows better?
7:15
The wholesome type of women we need in life. We need more of it.
Please.
I would love to see a video about the Downs-Thomson-Paradox and how it affects the traffic.
This is what kills me about our society. Every problem has already been had and a solution has been found. The only reason we continue to have problems is because of a failure to implement the known solutions.
Super cool design and a great video!
You could tell me the solution was a roundabout in the beginning of the video and I would still be surprised by the final implementation, it just looks so good and its makes so much sense
Thanks for coming to my hometown and highlighting this incredible suburban experiment :)
Roundabout is magic
People are coming around to them in Indy. Keystone Ave was long known for having horrible traffic, so it's really hard to deny the success. Also, we used to pick up materials in Carmel for my old job in an F350 with a big trailer, so if you can't get around these roundabouts in your truck, it's a skill issue.
North America needs more roundabouts
Then we are going to need to shrink our freight trucks first.
@@Hybris51129 they make them big enough for trucks, there are a few circles for highway interchange in my area that work very well.
@@joshuaneilson No they generally don't. Worse still is that every municipality thinks it's a good idea to put a towering planter that no rig or car can see over in the center so you get a happy little surprise that there is traffic in the circle.
That's before you get to the accidents.
There is a severe disconnect between what the stated numbers are verses reality but of course you aren't supposed to talk about that.
@@Hybris51129 Now that you mention it, that’s true. Despite cars being lower, and therefore visibility beyond that being worse, we don’t think much of it because we’re not carrying 50 foot trailers and therefore don’t need to see that far. Maybe it would work better if civil engineers were required to have experience as truck drivers?
The "What are they going to do with California tags!" is such a great hook for an ad. If I had disposable income I'd be all over.
A friend was visiting from South Korea and she listed many benefits but when she said 'If no one else is at it you do not have to stop. SOLD on the idea then and there.
Another benefit of the modern roundabout - you don't have to worry about beating the red light and sitting there for 4 or 5 minutes like the mayor said.
No red light, no need to speed through as quickly as possible.
I would love to see a video on the variety of roundabouts, with a focus on adaptive designs or temporary infrastructure. Some allow large vehicles to drive over the center circle while others are simply flower pots and signs. I’d love to see more micro-roundabouts in residential areas! We need traffic calming in suburbia QUICKLY.
I used to live in Bend, which loves roundabouts almost as much as Carmel. Don't live there anymore, I miss it, driving there could be so easy. So much wasted time at lights, even on smaller streets. We have a big highway like that in Meridian, ID (ID-55) that could really use some grade separation.
Why don’t the traffic lights have sensors under the asphalt? Where I live I always hit green lights (especially at night), if there’s no other traffic. Or if it’s just one car that wan’t to cross the road I’m traveling, it will be a very short green light for them, which means I get a green light much faster.
Thanks for making this video and explaining it so clearly. I mean this just describes city driving to a T. Half of the road is full, half is empty, half of your trip is moving, half is stopped in a parking lot at a red light. Making more lanes when you don't or can't fix the obstructions to the flow is just making bigger parking lots at bigger and more complex traffic lights that they program to stay red longer and longer. The conversations around the width of the roads just pits people against each other when the "solution" doesn't even work (except if you happen to own a road construction company).
I live on a small island with two lane roads everywhere. We've added roundabouts at a lot of intersections except the ones that are desperately needed. There's a few square road people, that are holding it up. It's crazy in every intersection they put one in, it's instantly eliminated all the traffic(for that intersection). But people just don't like them....
We need to start signaling when we intend to exit a roundabout. The main issue that drivers have with building more roundabouts is them being intimidating. When waiting for your turn at a roundabout, it can be difficult to know if the car coming around the roundabout is going to exit before you, or if the car is going to continue to the next exit. That problem is easily solved by signaling which exit you intend to use. Let’s start doing it!
An interesting topic I would recommend is what North Texas has been doing to some of the traffic heavy junctions to improve flow. Check out the junction of Texas 635 and 121, how going east bound, 121 splits into two roads, the right road where the ramp from 625 joins, then the right road splits again with the left half going north, and the right half travelling around the second junction to rejoin 121. At first it seemed like it would be a nightmare, but it made merging from 635 to 121 so safe and simple. Before, you'd have to fight people trying to leave 121, to go North, if you were coming from 635 trying to get on 121, to go East.
This reminds me of Singapore's large roads like the Pan Island Expressway (PIE). Almost no lights (no roundabouts either, though) anf traffic is uninterrupted. Pedestrains and cyclists dont have it so good, though - there are overhead bridges, sometimes with ramps, that they ascend to cross these roads.
I have never been to Indianapolis or even anywhere in Indiana as a commercial flight stop, but good Lord with the roundabouts.
Tried looking to see if you already did a video on one of the worst highways in the northeastern United States and no luck. I have been a subscriber to your channel and it is very informative! If you come here to Philadelphia, you should do a video on just how insane this highway nicknamed the "Surekill" really is!
Your videos are worth the wait!! Do I wish you posted every few days and had this same quality and time on each? YUP! But that would take a big team and you doing nothing but reading scripts while your team does editing, camera, and scripts. lol... Your research for every video is awesome and the way you explain everything is great. I've always been facinated with roads and roadway engineering since I was a kid. I just had no idea how to get into that industry.
Watched this with my dad and we both audibly awed at the idea to pinch the roundabout so it became one bridge.
I so agree with your statement "if you're gonna make somebody climb back the hill, might as well be the person with an engine"
And I have been thinking it silently every time I had to face it.
And if you do it well with the inertia and mass of vehicles it can be not costly at all on gas.
Each and every video you make Road Guy Rob is better than the one before
Keep up the roadwork!
5:54 in Croatia we call it "Green Wave".
I think the first time I’ve seen one of these was in Sweden. In Germany we usually just put two regular roundabouts at the sides and then a bridge connecting them. So the bridge isn’t part of the roundabouts.
I feel like the bone shape works better in keeping traffic moving but it’s worse if there is a sizable amount of traffic neither crossing nor entering the highway and just wanting to continue on the same side they are already on. Because to get to the exit on your left you have to cross the bridge twice.
As a Brit who's also lived in California and visited other parts of the USA, I find it baffling how many traffic lights there are on American highways. Roundabouts and judicious grade separation just make roads so much nicer to drive on.
Rob, this has been a great series so far, I absolutely love this stuff! Next time I'm passing through Indiana I'm going to make my way to Carmel just to see all this great stuff in action.
for traffic circle disaster see Wickenberg AZ. this needs a traffic circle bypass.. trucks all tippy at 15 mph
That one is a weird one. It does its job: warn drivers they are entering town and need to slow down and not mow down the locals. But the transition is pretty jarring.
The good news is Arizona DOT's route for the future I-11 (which will take over US-93) routes the new freeway away from the roundabout entirely.
"...It would back up until nobody could use the circle..."
...except those already in it and leaving it.
One lane roundabouts are super easy to get through. I love one lane roundabouts! Wait your turn to get on, drive around, and get off when you want without any conflicts. Often, you don't even have to stop or even slow down. Wonderful!
OTOH, two lane roundabouts are a nightmare because you have to be in the correct lane and cut across lanes to leave if you're on the inner circle. Cutting across lanes all of a sudden on the highway is a leading cause of wrecks, but you're expected to do exactly that on a two lane roundabout. I despise two-lane roundabouts with a passion!
The trick to using traditional multi lane roundabouts: If you're in the right lane, don't pass from the right. If you're in the left lane, speed up to stay ahead of cars in the right lane. This way cars can exit from the left lane without crashing. Unfortunately no one understands this, so now we build turbo roundabouts instead when more than 1 lane is needed.
@@FullLengthInterstates That sounds kind'a complicated. Even if I know the rules, most other people won't. That's the problem.
And let me ask you this. If I want to make a "left" turn, I have to be in the left lane, correct? That puts me in the inner circle in the roundabout, right? How do I get out of the roundabout at my exit without crossing over the outer circle?
@@fredashay my description was assuming right hand traffic/ left hand drive. its not complicated, and yeah you do have to cross the outer lane to exit - you just have to step on the gas pedal to stay ahead of cars in the outer lane. its not the most comfortable maneuver depending on how fast other cars are going, but most cars with a normal center of gravity, normal tires and normal road conditions can achieve this safely.
modern turbo roundabouts solve this problem by having all outer lanes exit, so that only the inner-most lane loops. Turbo roundabouts use some clever markings so that both roads get multiple through lanes.
In my country (Russia) it's even worse because you're only allowed to exit from the rightmost lane. You're allowed to enter from any lane though. So the only reason to use the inner lanes is to overtake. Needless to say, many drivers ignore this rule and exit from the inner lane, sometimes resulting in crashes. Some drivers take advantage of this and intentionally drive in circles in the rightmost lane, until someone exits from the wrong lane - then they intentionally hit them, in hopes they'll get compensation money (which they often do).
However, there is hope. Some roundabouts use lane control signs to override the default rule. And some places have introduced "turbo roundabouts" which eliminate lane-changing altogether.
This is a great way to take advantage of the time invested into videos. Great work as always Rob!
Valparaiso, Indiana did something very similar with Indiana State Rd 49 at Vale Park Rd on a smaller scale, and it definitely helps with traffic flow and you frequently see people walking or biking over the freeway bridge and across the roundabouts. I hope the city eventually does the same thing at the two busy intersections north of it and the busy intersection at LaPorte Rd/Indiana SR-2 as well.
I've got a squished roundabout near me, which was selected instead of the diverging diamond, and I'm so happy with that choice.
The only downside is the sight lines for traffic exiting the interstate to the circle that is looking for cars coming from the overpass. For small car drivers, it's hard to see vehicles coming from over the "hill" (overpass).