Cass County officials revisit building roundabout at problem intersection
CASS COUNTY, Mich. --- A potential fix could be coming to a problem intersection in Cass County.
A number of accidents at the Redfield and Gumwood Road intersection near Niles have prompted officials to reapply for funding to make improvements.
The Cass County road commission applied for a state grant in early August to fund a roundabout to alleviate the problems. Funding was previously denied for the project last year.
Joe Bellina with the road commission says after conducting a study, it was decided that a roundabout would be the best way to help traffic flow.
“It’s hard to look over your shoulder to make a left turn and it allows traffic coming off of Redfield to make a right turn onto southbound Gumwood at an accelerated speed,” Bellina said. “We took a look at a couple different options and what came out in the end was that a roundabout would allow traffic to negotiate the intersection in a much safer manner.”
Bellina said if the state grant is approved construction will start up in the next year or so.
The roundabout will take up a bit of space on the three surrounding properties at the intersection but Bellina said that the property owners are all on board with getting construction started to make the area safer.
2 Comments
Modern roundabouts are the safest form of intersection in the world - the intersection type with the lowest risk of fatal or serious injury crashes - (much more so than comparable signals). Modern roundabouts require a change in speed and alter the geometry of one of the most dangerous parts of the system - intersections.
The reduction in speed to about 20 mph and sideswipe geometry mean that, when a crash does happen at a modern roundabout, you might need a tow truck, rarely an ambulance. Visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for modern roundabout FAQs and safety facts.
Modern Roundabouts are one of several proven road safety features (FHWA).
The life saved may be your own.
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/provencountermeasures/roundabouts/
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/innovative/roundabouts/
Early crashes decrease over time:
https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/safety-at-two-lane-roundabouts-improves-over-time-new-study-shows
https://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20190325/gahanna-cuts-roundabout-learning-curve
Modern, slow and go, roundabout intersections have less daily delay than a stop light or stop sign, especially the other 20 hours a day people aren’t driving to or from work (it’s the #2 reason they’re built). Signals take an hour of demand and restrict it to a half hour, at best only half the traffic gets to go at any one time. 'At best' because traffic signals must have the yellow and all red portion (6+ seconds per cycle) for safety, and modern roundabouts do not. At a modern roundabout, drivers entering from different directions can all enter at the same time. Don’t try that with a signalized intersection.
People using the road make mistakes (like running stop signs and red lights), always have and always will. Crashes will always be with us, but they need not result in fatalities or serious injury.
Modern roundabouts are the safest form of intersection in the world - the intersection type with the lowest risk of fatal or serious injury crashes - (much more so than comparable signals). Modern roundabouts require a change in speed and alter the geometry of one of the most dangerous parts of the system - intersections.
The reduction in speed to about 20 mph and sideswipe geometry mean that, when a crash does happen at a modern roundabout, you might need a tow truck, rarely an ambulance. Visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for modern roundabout FAQs and safety facts.
Modern Roundabouts are one of several proven road safety features (FHWA).
The life saved may be your own.
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/provencountermeasures/roundabouts/
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/innovative/roundabouts/
Early crashes decrease over time:
https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/safety-at-two-lane-roundabouts-improves-over-time-new-study-shows
https://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20190325/gahanna-cuts-roundabout-learning-curve
Modern, slow and go, roundabout intersections have less daily delay than a stop light or stop sign, especially the other 20 hours a day people aren’t driving to or from work (it’s the #2 reason they’re built). Signals take an hour of demand and restrict it to a half hour, at best only half the traffic gets to go at any one time. 'At best' because traffic signals must have the yellow and all red portion (6+ seconds per cycle) for safety, and modern roundabouts do not. At a modern roundabout, drivers entering from different directions can all enter at the same time. Don’t try that with a signalized intersection.
