Community Corner
Data Says Roundabouts Are Quicker, Safer; Should Stillwater Have More?
According to data collected by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, roundabouts reduce fatalities by 90 percent because vehicles are forced to slow down as they approach intersections.
Stillwater may have only one roundabout now, but there could be more on the way.
According to a St. Paul Pioneer Press article by Bob Shaw, which cites the Minnesota Department of Transportation, roundabouts make intersections much safer by reducing fatalities by 90 percent. Even as the intersection is safer, traffic continues to move and fewer vehicles are forced to queue up waiting for their turn.
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"The data show that they are the safest intersections we have," said Ken Johnson, a roundabout expert at MnDOT. ... No one has proved a connection, but fatalities started falling four years ago, which is about when the state's roundabout building binge began. ... Besides safety, the other primary advantage of roundabouts is speed.
During rush hours, MnDOT's Johnson said, cars travel through roundabouts an average of 10 seconds faster. In nonpeak hours, traffic slows only slightly at a roundabout instead of making a full stop at a red light, night or day.
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Stillwater's only roundabout, pictured above, is at the intersection of New England Place and Rutherford Road, just west of Rutherford Elementary School.
Lake Elmo has one roundabout and the tiny community of Lakeland has three. The City of Woodbury boasts nearly a dozen roundabouts — the most in the state — either already built or in the works.
What do you think of roundabouts? Should Stillwater have more? Tell us in the comments.
