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Traffic circles aim to slow traffic by Chimborazo
05/09/2011 6:15 PM by John M
nbc12 looks at the new traffic circles by Chimborazo Elementary:
Parents were concerned about speeders. Drivers were just zipping by and 535 kids go to school here; many walk, are dropped off, or take the bus.
“I come and pick my daughter up each evening from school and a lot of the cars do not acknowledge the stops that the buses have,” said parent Michelle Macklin, Chimborazo PTA president.
Gotta love the roundabout!!!
I don’t see them actually slowing any traffic. They are too small and people don’t need to slow down to go around them.
I used to live in Seattle and the roundabouts were executed so much more thoughtfully.
How soon before the city realizes they are too small and tear them up to rebuild?
They can’t make them any bigger because of the city busses cannot get around them.
They DO NOT slow traffic down. When I first moved here, we had just two stops at each of these intersections. Then, they added the four way stops. They had not been any accidents at these corners since they addded the stops, pedestrian or auto. Now that they put in the circles, there’s no stop signs at all. The only traffic that is slowed down by the circles, are vehicles making a left hand turn. Through-traffic just whizzes by. If I did not actually live on the block of Marshall with these circles, I would avoid this street as I fear being hit by a car using the side street.
To make matters worse, they remove the pedestrian cross walks. It is a real challenge crossing the street now. The stop signs were so much better for the pedestrians. Since they put the circles at all four corners of the school, it has created a safety hazard for kids walking to school. I think Chimborazo needs to hire a crossing guard, because these circles make it too dangerous for kids to cross the street on their own.
I predict that there will be a major accident at at least one of these corners before the year’s end because of these circles. I don’t care what they say about traffic circles statistically, the one’s they’ve put up here are DANGEROUS and they do not slow down traffic (in fact, it’s speeded traffic up). We want cars to come to a STOP, not YIELD at a pedestrian crossing.
Agreed — cars are flying right through them. If anything, the city should enforce a no parking zone for 20 feet from these intersections on all streets. At the one on Marshall and 29th it’s often impossible to see past all the parked trucks for oncoming traffic.
I was in an accident about 6 months ago at 29th and Clay Street. I had the right of way on Clay and as I was approaching the intersection, the other driver pulled out in front of me. Thankfully it was just a fender bender.
I believe the cause of it might have been due to poor visibility. The driver could have also mistook the intersection for a 4-way (as there are so many in the area) and assumed I would slow down. A no parking zone definitely wouldn’t hurt.
I really like the look of the traffic circles. I think they are very attractive amenities and give these blocks a unique look and feel. And why does every vehicle have to come to a complete stop at each intersection? (And why is there that damn traffic light at Broad and 29th?!?! – but that’s a different topic). It may seem that traffic is moving faster and some cars may be moving faster when the streets are empty, but when the buses are there and parents are unloading kids or when the church on Clay and 31st is in session there are so many cars parked in the area you can’t shoot through the intersection. I think that’s the whole point. Plus, it is fun to drive or ride my bike around the circles. Edg, I don’t mean to make light of your concerns about pedestrian and vehicular safety, but I would be very surprised to see an accident at these intersections. I would, however, like to see yield signs placed along the clay street traffic circles. I think it logical for drivers to assume that all of the traffic circles are treated the same, but on Clay you yield only if coming off of 31st and 29th Streets.
I wondered why the City had made the circle so small, and I should have realized that it’s because of those ridiculous buses. First, I travel this street daily and since I no longer have to stop at those two signs and barely have to yield (just be cautious) because they’re so small, I’m naturally/obviously traveling faster at those two former brake points. I always travel more slowly in front of the school, particularly if I’m traveling when children are around, so I know I’m not the one causing the concerns regarding the school. Perhaps if the City put up a school zone speed limiter during drop off and pick up timelines, that would help. I’ve wondered in my 5 years on the Hill why there isn’t one.
Second, the bus stops directly in front of the roundabout makes for a new, dangerous situation. I think GRTC needs to move them back from the corner. These bus drivers often bully and create unsafe situations anyway, and here’s another one where they’re now sitting 1/4 of the way in the roundabout when they stop. This situation is further problematic with residents parking all the way to the intersection. Now that the pattern is changed where you don’t drive straight, but in a circle pattern, there’s more risk of hitting a parked car. Again, why Richmond is the only city I’ve ever been to that doesn’t put No Parking signs within 20 feet of an intersection is beyond me. Some of our issues could be resolved with a little guidance/assistance from the Department of Public Works.
Third, most people in Richmond have never seen a roundabout and do not know what to do when presented with one. I’ve seen drivers reach the roundabout and want to turn left. Instead of going completely around the circle like they should, they cut in front of the circle and turn left. THAT is an accident waiting to happen. Before the city creates new traffic patterns, they should educate the public on right of way/rules of these rotaries. Living in Massachusetts 6 1/2 years helped me with that since there are rotaries everywhere, but not everyone has the luxury of previous experience.
Finally, they are putting in crosswalks. They’ve outlined them in spray paint where they’ll be going on.
sometimes i consider carrying a backpack of rotten fruit and vegetables to throw at the cars that whiz by doing 45-50 mph as i walk along M, Leigh, Clay, or Marshall. alas, i don’t think it would help the situation. most of the time i just yell “slow down” at the top of my lungs. sorry, but i am THAT guy…
In my experience, many Richmonders just have no idea how to navigate a traffic circle. I live near the big, new-ish 25th Street circle and almost every time I have to go through it, at least one car involved at the moment has no idea what’s going on. Many just speed right through without yielding or slowing down, and others just idle, not sure when it’s their turn to go. With just one car gone awry, it can become a shitshow. Confusion on the road is dangerous, especially in a school zone. Stop signs are clear and when someone runs one, they know they are breaking the law. The worst thing about these circles is that a lot of people are clueless and have no idea when they are screwing up. Normally law-abiding citizens end up endangering everyone’s safety, too. The city’s problem-solving logic just baffles me. People are running the stop signs and speeding, so the solution is to take the stop signs away?
Traffic circles are used to ease traffic flow. They ARE not useful for pedestrian crossings. I grew up in the DC area (Alexandria) and would never attempt to cross the street at one of the traffic circles up there. You will be run over! The only place to cross the street is at a corner with a stop sign or best yet, a stop light with a button (such as on Broad and 29th).
This particular area has high pedestrian traffic with both the bus stop and the school. Even when school is not in session, the playground is open and used by the neighborhood children.
As far as the busses go, I consider it a plus that I live across the street from a bus stop on the main line. It is very convenient and I do use the bus. I have nothing against GRTC and know many people who depend on the busses for transportation.
The installation of crosswalks will hopefully remind drivers of the pedestrian environment they are driving through and encourage them to slow their roll.
The problem with putting no parking signs within 20 feet of an intersection is that on most Church Hill blocks, that eliminates half of the available parking for residents. My block is already full, as are most of the blocks surrounding my own. Where are we supposed to park? I can see the feasibility of eliminating parking at least one parking spot next to the intersection (about 6 or 7 feet), but not 20.
The city needs to reroute their buses anyhow. There is no need for buses to run up and down every damn street.
Again, living in Seattle has made me acutely aware of all of Richmond’ public transportation and public safety mistakes.
The thing that drives me bat shit crazy are the people who don’t use the cross walks at the 25th roundabout. I could scream!
I agree teresa. Why people don’t use the crosswalk is something ill never understand, or the sidewalk. Why do people insist on walking in oncoming traffic or even standing in the road leaning in having a conversation with the driver. 25th st is out of control and rather embarrassing for the police.
Sam,
It not just on 25th street. I’m on 23rd and it’s like an obstacle course driving down the street. Was coming home one afternoon last week and someone had just stopped in the middle of the road and got out of their car (there was room to park by the curb of course) and walked to someone’s house. Just left the damn car sitting in the middle of the road! It’s just plain inconsiderate.
I think what really annoys is that these circles just sprang up, practically overnight, with no input from the community. I would like to know who approved the installation of the circles. Is this something that the city council does, or do you just need to know someone at Richmond public works?
edg, I am not sure how the City identifies who should be included in their input process (probably all addresses so many hundred feet from the project area), but I am pretty sure that everyone on our block (400 N. 31st) received a letter from the City explaining that the circles had been proposed and asked for input, concerns, support, etc. City staff also presented the idea and answered questions about the the traffic circles at an open house at Chimborazo Elementary several months ago. In response to these two out reach efforts I wrote a letter of support to the City in favor of the traffic circles. A few weeks prior to construction the City distributed fliers to at least everyone on my block explaining that construction would soon start, the order of construction (Marshall St. first and than Clay St.) and provided a contact for questions and concerns. I was actually very impressed with the City’s outreach efforts, the speed of the work and the quality of the product. If it didn’t, the City should have presented the info sent to nearby residents to the neighborhood associations on the Hill and the CHPN. That being said, I would love to see the City develop a website on which proposed construction projects like the circles are explained (including photos, descriptions, costs, timelines, contact persons, etc.) and would be available for all to reveiw and comment on and for community news orgs like CHPN to easily track. Trying to track these things through the CIP or “meet with your Councilwoman” presentation nights is just not that convenient. Maybe the project proposal could be based on the “SeeClickFix” citizen request service the City is currently using (which I think is really cool and now has an app for smart phones to make it super easy to log complaints, with photos, about pot holes, abandoned cars, etc. while strolling around the neighborhood – check it out, I think it is a really cool app. And the City really does follow up – I used SeeClickFix to put in a request to clean the MLK bridge shoulders for safer bicycle travel and it was taken care of in less than a week).
I received a flyer indicating that the circles would be constructed one week before the install. It did not ask for input and it seemed like it was already a done deal, although I did call the number on the flyer to voice my opinion. This isn’t what I call asking for community input as the decision to build the circles was already made and they were just notifying us that the construction was about to begin.
See click fix works for small stuff, for sure. They were out next day to fix two street lights and the one in front of my house is broken, they have been out daily to figure it out