Roundabouts Rule

People close to me know that I am a huge proponent of roundabouts. They are safer and more efficient than traffic lights, yet they are few and far between in MA or the US in general. Instead, we see traffic lights popping up like mushrooms.

I found a refreshing review of roundabouts here:

http://www.rrstar.com/opinions/columnists/x1341946663/For-safety-efficiency-it-s-time-to-consider-roundabouts

A few key points:

• How many times have you sat at a red light, waiting for nobody to cross the intersection? The light is blind to actual traffic. That doesn't happen at roundabouts.
• The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety has found that converting traffic signals or stop signs to roundabouts reduced injury crashes by 80% and all crashes by 40%
• Roundabouts conserve petrol because there is no idling and hard stop/starts. Vehicle emissions are reduced by 21% - 42%
• More cars go through a roundabout intersection per minute than a traffic light