[Magdalen] Roundabouts and traffic lights (was Re: Cruz on Trump)

[Scott Knitter]

On Sun, Sep 25, 2016 at 5:36 PM, Roger Stokes
<roger.stokes65 at btinternet.com> wrote:
> http://www.wimp.com/mythbusters-test-a-four-way-stop-vs-a-roundabout/ is
> instructive in this regard.  On my last two trips to the USA I have come
> across roundabouts - the first on a country road and the others in a busier
> situation.  They worked well.

Our neighborhood here in Chicago uses several "traffic-calming"
techniques to keep motorists from zooming through neighborhoods. There
are the dreaded speed humps ("sleeping policemen"), four-way stops at
most intersections, and one somewhat confusing feature: what I would
call traffic circles rather than roundabouts. These tend to be at
intersections of two one-way streets. There's a decorative curbed
island in the middle, and there are stop signs. So you can't just
proceed without stopping even if the way is clear. And when making a
left turn (this used to drive me insane), there's really no need to go
270 degrees around the circle; you just turn left before the circle
and move on. So some go around the circle and some simply turn left. I
guess it matters less than it would if it involved two-way streets.
But what's really confusing to me is the sign informing drivers of the
circle coming up: it's a roundabout sign, with the circle of arrows.
To me that means a UK-style circle with yield signs and everyone goes
(in US style) counterclockwise. But it's really just a decorative
traffic-calming thing.

-- 
Scott R. Knitter
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA