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Something strange is growing in Florida

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aerog

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These things are growing all over the place. Someone must have gone to the UK and brought back some roundabout seedlings.

These are in a huge development they've been working on just up the street from me, but a good number of the new places are using them. I've driven through this area quite a bit, and I'm happy to say <span style="font-style: italic">most</span> drivers know how to navigate through them without coming to a dead stop. <span style="font-style: italic">They work!</span> I've seen a few roundabouts in New England (especially Cape Cod), and Pennsylvania - but they're almost a normal thing in new construction around Florida now.

East-entrance to the new super-target shopping center:
473020783_PCGke-M.jpg


...this will eventually connect up to the other roundabout at the shopping center, it's one of the few major roads not built yet:
473020961_dXEpt-M.jpg


...and another one on the far-eastern side of the development area:
473021162_32Xgy-M.jpg
 
There used to be alot of them in New Jersey.

Pat
 
They're popping up all around here also. I asked why & was told they take up less space & move traffic faster.
 
I grew up with them, of course and I love 'em! There are more of them cropping up here, too.

When I saw the title of the thread, my immediate thought was "Oh, Scott must have gone to visit Doc in his backyard"........ :devilgrin:
 
We have recently had a few crop up around way down here in S. Fl. too!! At least they are not like the Jersey variety where there was often traffic also routed straight through the center for the main artery as well!! New Jersey's greatest contribution that never caught on elsewhere though has to be the "jug-handle"!!!
 
Starting to see them in Maryland too. I grew up with one in our town (Gettysburg PA), and I like them - but some folks seem to struggle with the concept!
 
We have a few here & more are being installed every year. I dislike them intensely and avoid the bigger ones in Augusta (Maine) even though it costs a mile or so of extra travel. They just changed the traffic pattern in one here & according to the spokesman for the state DOT they result in more minor accidents but fewer major ones.

Down in southern Maine you can buy tee shirts proclaiming "I survived the Kennebunk rotary".

I must be missing something.
 
P'raps some "driver training"?
 
Um....Doc.....just how TALL is the ladder you used to get those photos? Or did you barter a deal with some of your old military buds to borrow a C135 for an afternoon?? LOL :laugh:
 
coldplugs said:
I must be missing something.
Click to expand...

I think it depends on the traffic where they are. I've been in big ones with majorly aggressive drivers and those were pretty bad unless you're in the same mind-set (they're still scary though).

The ones I showed in the pictures are terrific because they're in relative low-traffic area, and you don't have to stop (unless there's a lot of traffic and can't merge of course).
 
bugimike said:
We have recently had a few crop up around way down here in S. Fl. too!!
Click to expand...

They're all over the state. I do a lot of photography for mapping from Key West to Pensacola - and I'm amazed to see how many are out there. Not quite sure <span style="font-style: italic">why</span>, maybe someone had a class on roundabouts and the graduates are just getting into the planning offices :wink:
 
They're a great alternative to stop and go traffic lights/signs and really do keep things moving.

I love traffic circles. Problem is, most of the drivers around here seem to have not a clue how to negotiate them. Makes it really dodgy trying to drive through . . . :eeek:
 
I agree, a real energy saver. I lived near Swindon, UK in the early nineties. I used to navigate the "magic roundabout" often. Hope we don't get one of these!!!
 

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I grew up with them, we learned how to use them properly and they work when properly used. That's not to say that they magically do away with traffic jams, but they do run smoother as they don't make you wait when there is nothing obstructing your way.

There is an ever growing number of lights and stop signs that are forced on us because the authorities take the easy route of attacking the symptom rather than the cause of bad driving. They dumb everything down to the lowest common denominator.
 
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