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Regional Discussion => Monadnock => Keene => Topic started by: Kat Kanning on December 15, 2006, 11:53 AM NHFT

Title: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Kat Kanning on December 15, 2006, 11:53 AM NHFT
Panel puts a hold on roundabout spending
   

PETER J. CLEARY
Sentinel Staff


Not wanting to be taken by surprise again, a Keene City Council committee decided Thursday to hold off on approving consultant fees for a planned roundabout until councilors know just how much the full project will cost.

The city had planned to build a roundabout at Main, Marlboro and Winchester streets this summer, but when bids for the $3.75 million project came in $1 million over budget the council decided to hold off on the construction until next year. Thursday, it considered the first new spending for the project.

Public works Director K?rt D. Blomquist asked the council for $204,069 to pay a consultant for observation, assistance and coordination on the project. Part of that money would pay for help with the bidding.

But the council's finance committee recommended holding off on approving the spending, letting City Manager John A. MacLean authorize the smaller amount needed for assistance with the bid process.


      


Committee Chairman Angelo D. DiBernardo Jr. said he doesn't want to approve the spending until he knows the full price of the project. Part of the reason, he said, is that the previous bids came in so high. While another high bid doesn't necessarily mean he'd decide against going forward with the project, he said, it would make him take a close look at it.

And the council's tentativeness may reflect the sentiments of residents.

"Not one person has told me that they think (the roundabout is) a good idea," said City Councilor Cynthia C. Georgina.

She's heard from eight or nine people, she said, not including people who call in to her Saturday morning radio show. The issue isn't the roundabout itself, she said, but the spending. There has also been talk of a new fire station and middle school in Keene.

Georgina said Keene residents are telling her they don't mind the traffic that city officials say makes the roundabout necessary.

"People are saying, 'I go through that intersection and it's not that bad,' " she said. She doesn't mind the traffic herself, she said, though she's not a frequent visitor to the intersection.

Councilor Philip Dale Pregent said he doesn't think waiting to approve the full $204,069 means councilors want to hold off on the project - unless the bids come in well over budget.

DiBernardo said high bids may also make him reconsider the project. For that reason, he said, it's best not to commit the money until necessary.

"It's just being frugal," DiBernardo said.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: cathleeninnh on December 15, 2006, 12:36 PM NHFT
Odd, I heard a news report on WMUR that this was about to get started, would cost $6mil, and would be completed in 2008.

Cathleen
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Lloyd Danforth on December 15, 2006, 05:06 PM NHFT
Sounds like a lot of money for busting out some curbs and rearranging them and filling in the middle of the donut.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Russell Kanning on December 15, 2006, 05:26 PM NHFT
really really lame

.... they already made it a little better by adding a lane northbound.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: David on December 22, 2006, 12:52 PM NHFT
I thought it sounded surprizingly expensive also.   :o
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Lex on December 22, 2006, 03:15 PM NHFT
Quote from: Soundwave on December 15, 2006, 08:57 PM NHFT
Keene needs turning lanes.

Of course you'll also need lanes to get into the turning lanes and separate lanes to turn into the roundabout and an extra smaller lane that goes around the roundabout in case you don't feel like going through the round about. What do you guys think?  :D
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Lex on December 22, 2006, 03:17 PM NHFT
I know some of you may ask why the extra lane going around the roundabout should be smaller and my reasoning is that this will allow us to save some money that could later be used for the bridge that would go OVER the roundabout in case the roundabout and the extra small lane are congested.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Lloyd Danforth on December 22, 2006, 04:11 PM NHFT
You just suck all of the fun out of the round a bout Lex
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Kat Kanning on December 22, 2006, 06:20 PM NHFT
In and around the lake....mountains come out of the sky...
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Tom Sawyer on December 23, 2006, 07:10 AM NHFT
Quote from: Kat Kanning on December 22, 2006, 06:20 PM NHFT
In and around the lake....Mama's come out of the sky...

He got to you didn't he?!!!

You bastard HOLLYWOOD!
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: PinoX7 on December 24, 2006, 11:58 AM NHFT
roundabouts suck.because they only work with a low-mid level of traffic. If a certain area has alot of traffic at one time it pretty much screws everyone over.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Lex on December 24, 2006, 07:00 PM NHFT
Quote from: PinoX7 on December 24, 2006, 11:58 AM NHFT
roundabouts suck.because they only work with a low-mid level of traffic. If a certain area has alot of traffic at one time it pretty much screws everyone over.

That's where four lane bridges come in.
Title: Keene trying to take Eaton's land by eminent domain
Post by: Kat Kanning on February 10, 2007, 06:36 AM NHFT
Circular route for project Vote on roundabout land short, for now
   

Melanie Plenda
Sentinel Staff


Plans to take a strip of Marlboro Street land owned by former state senator Thomas R. Eaton got sidetracked Thursday night when the city council failed to garner enough votes among members to take up the issue.

But the next time it comes up, the same vote could send it forward.

The council met to discuss whether the city should take Eaton's land by eminent domain as part of the planned construction of a roundabout at Main, Marlboro and Winchester streets. Eminent domain gives the government power to take private property for public use, paying "market value" in return. Though the council voted 9-5 in favor of making a decision on the issue, that was just short of the two-thirds majority needed.

The two-thirds vote was needed to suspend a council rule that the panel cannot act on an issue the first time it comes before it. Under the rule, the issue would have to go to a committee before the board could vote to make a decision. Because the vote failed and was sent to committee, the board will only need a simple majority to pass the next time it comes up.


      


The city has been working on the roundabout project for the last three years.

It's already purchased land from the U.S. Postal Service, B&N Investors and Keene State College, said City Manager John A. MacLean. The city had been negotiating with Eaton since 2004 over the third piece: a 4,000-square-foot strip of land at 33 Marlboro St.

MacLean told council members Thursday that, at one point, Eaton was offered $18,000 and a land swap in exchange for the Marlboro Street land and was ready to go through with the sale.

However, around December, negotiations broke down and Eaton told city officials he was not going to sell the property, so they started looking at beginning eminent domain proceedings, MacLean said.

"I'm not trying to be an obstructionist," Eaton told The Sentinel. "There are a lot of issues involved. ... We got to a certain point (in negotiations) ... nothing was ever signed or anything else. And I've had a lot of, a number of people call me, against the roundabout, a number of people ... telling me 'Don't do it.' Calls to my house from people I don't even know."

He had said on Wednesday he's no fan of the project anyway.

Eaton said another issue with selling the property is the loss of income he would suffer because he leases that land to Fletcher Funeral Home, which he used to run.

Eaton said because of that, if at some point in the eminent-domain process, the issue goes before a judge, the judge is the one who decides the value of the property and what it is worth in hardship to the owner.

This, Eaton said, could end up costing the city much more than it anticipated and add to the cost of a project already over budget.

The city has already spent $600,000 of the $4.2 million project on engineering studies and property acquisition.

The lowest bid for the project, which came in late last week from SUR Construction West Inc. of Winchester, was $3,049,129, but that doesn't include $200,000 for further engineering studies, or $489,000 for burying overhead wires.

That leaves the project at least $102,968 over budget.

City Councilor Frederick B. Parsells, told The Sentinel the council doesn't have a plan in place if the amount the city has to end up paying for the land is more than it anticipated.

Voting against going forward with the eminent-domain discussion at Thursday's meeting were council members Charles H. Redfern, Arnold H. Bailey, Pamela Russell Slack, Kendall W. Lane and Cynthia Georgina.

Those voting to move forward were James Duffy, Robert H. Farrar, Philip M. Jones, Parsells, Paula-Ayn Phillips, Philip Dale Pregent, David C. Richards, Nathaniel M. Stout and Ruth R. Venezia.

Joseph W. Bendzinski was absent.

"This whole idea of taking land by eminent domain," Lane said, "it leaves a very bad taste in the community's mouth. It's very difficult to try to ram any project through on the basis of forcing somebody to give up their land."

Slack said she voted against it because it's too much money to spend on a project the community doesn't want and that may not improve traffic anyway.

Parsells said some members of the council are determined to see the project go through despite the potential that many residents may not want the roundabout. Parsells said he still thinks the roundabout is the best way to solve the downtown traffic problem, based on the studies and discussions the council has had over the years.

"We were elected to be leaders, not wind-testers," Parsells said. "Sometimes the public is wrong or not as informed."

The council's municipal services, facilities and infrastructure committee will hold a special meeting on the issue Monday at 5:30 at city hall. If approved, the issue will go back to council for a vote Thursday. Should the council decide then to go forward with eminent domain proceedings, a public hearing will be held March 12.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Russell Kanning on February 10, 2007, 08:10 AM NHFT
"We were elected to be leaders, not wind-testers," Parsells said. "Sometimes the public is wrong or not as informed."

I am the decider and I am going to decide.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Kat Kanning on February 10, 2007, 08:48 AM NHFT
...despite what the people who live here want.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Lloyd Danforth on February 10, 2007, 09:03 AM NHFT
Well...ya gotta unnerstand!.......sometimes the public is un-informed......or wrong :P
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: NC2NH on February 10, 2007, 03:31 PM NHFT
Quote from: Tom Sawyer on December 23, 2006, 07:10 AM NHFT
Quote from: Kat Kanning on December 22, 2006, 06:20 PM NHFT
In and around the lake....Mama's come out of the sky...

He got to you didn't he?!!!

You bastard HOLLYWOOD!

Mu-ha-ha-ha-ha! >:D
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Tom Sawyer on February 10, 2007, 03:50 PM NHFT
Damn dude, looking at your avatar, you aged a little since I saw you last. ;D

Of course looking at mine you can see I have regressed. ;)
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: NC2NH on February 10, 2007, 04:11 PM NHFT
Quote from: Tom Sawyer on February 10, 2007, 03:50 PM NHFT
Damn dude, looking at your avatar, you aged a little since I saw you last. ;D

Of course looking at mine you can see I have regressed. ;)

It's because I'm so far away from the "cradle" of liberty.

The fountain of youth is in Cheshire County. Who'da thunk it? ;D
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: error on February 10, 2007, 05:29 PM NHFT
What's the point of holding a public hearing AFTER voting to move forward with eminent domain proceedings?
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Russell Kanning on February 10, 2007, 06:05 PM NHFT
to tell us what to think
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Dreepa on February 11, 2007, 02:45 PM NHFT
I still find it interesting that 'roundabouts' are so expensive.. I mean.. come on.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: error on February 11, 2007, 02:59 PM NHFT
Bribes are expensive.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Russell Kanning on February 11, 2007, 06:42 PM NHFT
this one is expensive because there is no room for it .... the other part they forget to talk about ... is that they have to tear out working lights ... and it will be crummy for pedestrians.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Lloyd Danforth on February 11, 2007, 07:29 PM NHFT
If this is where Marlboro, Winchester and Main Sts.meet, I don't remember ever having a problem coming from any direction at that intersection.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Kat Kanning on February 12, 2007, 06:32 AM NHFT
Lloyd, you're bringing far too much logic to this situation.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Lloyd Danforth on February 12, 2007, 06:52 AM NHFT
Sorry :'(, I'll try to watch that
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Kat Kanning on February 14, 2007, 09:00 AM NHFT

Eaton land vote back to council Eminent domain key to roundabout plan
   

Freeman Klopott
Sentinel Staff


The decision to take a strip of land on Marlboro Street in Keene owned by former state Senate president Thomas R. Eaton for a planned roundabout is back in the city council's hands.

A 3-2 vote by the council's municipal services, facilities and infrastructure committee Monday night in favor of using eminent domain to take 4,227 square feet of Eaton's 33 Marlboro St. property sends the issue back to the council for a vote on Thursday.

City officials say the property is necessary for construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Main, Marlboro and Winchester streets.

Eminent domain is the power of the government to take private property for public use, paying market value in return.


      


Last week, the council failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority to take up the issue at a special meeting. That sent it to the committee.

When the council meets Thursday it needs only a simple majority to set a public hearing, the next step in the eminent domain procedure.

The council would not cast a final vote on using eminent domain until after the public hearing, slated for March 19.

The city has been working on the roundabout project for the last three years and has already purchased land from the U.S. Postal Service, B&N Investors and Keene State College.

That leaves only Eaton's property, a narrow strip of land from the corner of Marlboro and Main streets along the north edge of the Keene Book Exchange, heading east down Marlboro Street to the sign for Fletcher Funeral Home.

Eaton leases the property to the funeral home, and while the roundabout project won't directly impact that building, it could affect the lease, which has Eaton concerned, he said.

Last week, City Manager John A. MacLean told councilors that, at one point, Eaton was offered $18,000 and a land swap in exchange for the Marlboro Street land and was ready to go through with the sale.

However, around December, negotiations broke down and Eaton told city officials he was not going to sell the property, MacLean said. So they began examining eminent domain procedures.

The city needs the property to add a slip lane off the 160-foot-wide roundabout, Public Works Director Kurt D. Blomquist told The Sentinel. That slip lane, he said, widens Marlboro Street by one-and-a-half lanes.

At Monday night's committee meeting, Eaton said, "I am sorry we are at this point. I do think the cost of the project is way too high."

The city has already spent $600,000 of the $4.2 million project on engineering studies and property acquisition.

The lowest recent bid for the project, from S.U.R. Construction West Inc. of Winchester, was $3,049,129, which doesn't include $200,000 for further engineering studies.

A $489,000 plan to bury overhead wires at the site has been put off for now. That leaves the project about $380,000 under budget.

Eaton described a public sentiment that opposes using eminent domain, pointing to an amendment passed by more than two-thirds of New Hampshire voters in November that limits the government's power to seize property. While that amendment does not apply in these circumstances, Eaton said, the overwhelming support it received is indicative of opposition to using eminent domain.

Councilor Nathaniel M. Stout agreed there is a cultural phenomenon of opposition to eminent domain in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court case. But, "if we didn't have eminent domain we wouldn't have the national highway system. It's not pleasant, but sometimes we have to do what's unpleasant," Stout said.

And this project is necessary, Stout said. In personal finance terms, "We're not talking about getting a flat-screen TV; we're talking about redoing the basement plumbing," he said.

Councilors Arnold H. Bailey and Kendall W. Lane voted against the measure Monday night. Councilors David C. Richards, Robert H. Farrar and Ruth R. Venezia voted in favor.

The city council will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. on the second floor of City Hall.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: error on February 14, 2007, 01:14 PM NHFT
Quote from: Kat Kanning on February 14, 2007, 09:00 AM NHFT
Councilor Nathaniel M. Stout agreed there is a cultural phenomenon of opposition to eminent domain in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court case. But, "if we didn't have eminent domain we wouldn't have the national highway system. It's not pleasant, but sometimes we have to do what's unpleasant," Stout said.

I'm not as shocked that the bureaucrat said that as I am that the newspaper printed it. People are NOT supposed to even get a HINT as to the truth, that government is evil, and that's a pretty big hint.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Russell Kanning on February 15, 2007, 01:04 AM NHFT
he is willing to make those tough decisions .... like taking other people's land and paying for it with other people's money. He is courageous.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Lloyd Danforth on February 15, 2007, 06:58 AM NHFT
Quote from: Russell Kanning on February 15, 2007, 01:04 AM NHFT
he is willing to make those tough decisions .... like taking other people's land and paying for it with other people's money. He is courageous.

Shortened, this would make a good sign
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Russell Kanning on February 15, 2007, 10:33 AM NHFT
have the courage ... 2 take other's land
or
City has the courage
to take land

Stout is "the decider"
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Lloyd Danforth on February 15, 2007, 10:53 AM NHFT





                                                                            Stout makes the
                                                                            Tough Decisions
                                                                            Take others land
                                                                           With others money
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Lloyd Danforth on February 15, 2007, 10:55 AM NHFT






                                                                         Stout makes decisions tough!
                                                                      Take others land with others bucks!
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Kat Kanning on February 18, 2007, 01:30 PM NHFT
Roundabout doubt a familiar theme
   

IAN BAGLEY
Sentinel Staff


A quick and dirty survey of folks in downtown Keene Saturday night suggests the City Council?s plans for a new roundabout on Main Street haven?t generated much enthusiasm from the public.

Thursday, the council voted to move forward with the plan to build a $4.2 million roundabout at the intersection of Main, Marlboro and Winchester Streets.

City officials who support the planned roundabout say it will produce a more efficient passageway for Keene travelers ? but most of a handful of businesspeople and pedestrians on Main Street were skeptical.

Traffic on Main Street is a problem right now, but ?I don?t really find a roundabout all that useful,? said Nichole L. Hastings, the manager of Moe Momentum Clothing on Main Street.


      


Several people were critical of the roundabouts at the north end of Main Street and near Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene on Court Street.

?I don?t think people can handle this roundabout, let alone a bigger one,? said Keene resident Jamie L. Judd, pointing to Central Square.

Munsonville resident Tracey Burroughs, who passes through the existing intersection when she drops off her kids at school in Keene, said she thinks the proposed roundabout is a waste of money.

?I think it?s working fine the way it is,? she said.

Tom Maguire, the manager of Game Express on West Street, said he thinks the roundabout could be good or bad.

?I don?t know if traffic is that much of an issue that it couldn?t be solved by something else,? said Maguire, who added that he can?t see a roundabout working if it includes traffic lights.

Swanzey resident Brian K. Stone said he thought the roundabout would work out. ?They had to do something,? he said.

Stone saw a similarity between opposition to this roundabout and another roundabout on Route 5 in Brattleboro. When that roundabout was first proposed, some people fought it, Stone said, but now it?s completely accepted.

City officials say they plan to start construction in April and end in October. They say Winchester Street would be closed to all but local traffic throughout the construction period, and the intersection would also be closed at times.

Stoddard resident John F. Keating, whose wife owns the Life is Sweet candy store on West Street, said he thought the construction period would be ?miserable.?

His wife, Tracy E. Keating, said she doesn?t know much about the proposal, but the Brattleboro roundabout ?seems to work.? When asked about downtown traffic, Keating said her only concern is that she has to pay close attention to pedestrians when they use crosswalks.

Keating said she is adjusting after moving to the area recently from New York City, where vehicles have the right of way.

Thursday, the council voted to pursue taking a 4,227-square-foot piece of property owned by former state senator Thomas R. Eaton, who has refused to sell the land.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Russell Kanning on February 18, 2007, 07:57 PM NHFT
I don't think they had to tear down buildings for the decent roundabout on route 5 in brattleboro. It also has basically no foot traffic.
Can you see downtown Keene with 2 traffic circles ... both with lights? What a joke.
Normal people in town have much more sense than politicos.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: KBCraig on February 02, 2008, 07:48 PM NHFT
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Accidents+abound+at+new+Keene+roundabout&articleId=f28c2f15-ae76-4d99-b67e-e039af6e0991

Accidents abound at new Keene roundabout

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


KEENE – The new traffic roundabout in Keene replaced a dangerous intersection, and was supposed to improve safety. After five months and 46 traffic accidents, some drivers are not so sure.

Tuesday afternoon, a three-car crash involving a tractor-trailer on the Route 101 and Winchester Street roundabout sent two people to the hospital. It was the worst accident there since the roundabout opened in July.

And since September, injuries have resulted from nine of the 46 crashes at the busy roundabout, according to Keene police Lt. Richard Richards.

When stop lights regulated traffic at the intersection, there were 11 crashes, two involving injuries, from Sept. 1, 2006 to Jan. 30, 2007, according to Richards.

Some Keene residents, like Samm Russell, try to steer clear.

"When there was a light, I used to go through that intersection four times a week," Russell said Thursday. "I don't do that now. I avoid it."

Keene Public Works Director Kurt Blomquist said roundabouts tend to be safer than traditional intersections because the circular flow of traffic forces drivers to slow down.

"Roundabouts statistically have lower levels of severe accidents," he said. "That's not necessarily less accidents, just less severe accidents. You don't have T-bones. You don't have people rushing to beat the light."

But the percentages of accidents with injuries at the intersection before and after the roundabout were almost identical during the five-month periods a year apart.

There were also more than five times as many crashes.

Blomquist believes speed is to blame.

The speed limit drops from 40 mph to 20 mph as vehicles in two lanes approach the rotary from the east or west.

Driver Cary Sevene of Spofford said people simply are not yielding to traffic that has the right of way.

"I think that roundabout at Route 101 is the most dangerous roundabout in Keene," said Sevene, who drives through the intersection everyday on her way to work. "People just don't yield when they should. I've seen people almost get hit through there."

The relatively new two-lane roundabout is also perplexing to some drivers, Blomquist said. "You're going to have people who have difficulty adjusting to pattern changes. I'm still amazed. I keep hearing about people going the wrong way on the roundabout. It's just hard for me to imagine how even the most inattentive driver can make that mistake."

Drivers in other towns haven't seemed to have problems adjusting to their circular traffic patterns.

There hasn't been a single accident at a roundabout that opened in Meredith last May, said Police Chief Kevin Morrow.

"No accidents. Not one," he said. "I'm surprised (about Keene). Then again, the volume of traffic here is much less. We have a busy motorcycle week, but there were no issues other than people swearing at each other."

In Goffstown, there have been three crashes with one injury involving a bicyclist since the town's heavily traveled roundabout was finished a year ago, Police Chief Michael French said.

"This is the major road from the center of Goffstown to the city of Manchester and Route 293," French said. "It sees a lot of traffic."

Two roundabouts were built in Hanover in 2006 on Route 10, with no accidents.

"No accidents reported at all," Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone said. "It's almost like people coming to a four-way or three-way stop sign. They know that the people inside the circle have the right-of-way."
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Puke on February 02, 2008, 08:28 PM NHFT
Quote from: KBCraig on February 02, 2008, 07:48 PM NHFT
Tuesday afternoon, a three-car crash involving a tractor-trailer on the Route 101 and Winchester Street roundabout sent two people to the hospital. It was the worst accident there since the roundabout opened in July.

So that's what that was. I drove by that on my way home.

The problem is the retarded two lane design. People are idiots and can't figure out how to navigate the thing.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: David on February 04, 2008, 07:41 PM NHFT
I like the roundabout.  It generally speeds up the traffic flow.
The problems are being caused primarily due to the idiots who are so hung up on them believing they have the right of way no matter what, that they don't drive defensively.  That is a bad combo when human error occurs.  The only solution the idiots who call into the local talk shows can concieve of is more enforcement, and or some new law.  Right of way makes it safer to drive and makes it easier to assign blame after an accident.  But I would rather not get into an accident no matter who is at fault.  But maybe that just my crazy radical anarchist ideas again.   ;)
Statistically these things are safer, and in theory, they should save the gov't money in the long run.  I don't get into accidents because I pay attention to other people. 
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Puke on February 04, 2008, 08:14 PM NHFT
Quote from: David on February 04, 2008, 07:41 PM NHFT
I like the roundabout.  It generally speeds up the traffic flow.
The problems are being caused primarily due to the idiots who are so hung up on them believing they have the right of way no matter what, that they don't drive defensively.  That is a bad combo when human error occurs.  The only solution the idiots who call into the local talk shows can concieve of is more enforcement, and or some new law.  Right of way makes it safer to drive and makes it easier to assign blame after an accident.  But I would rather not get into an accident no matter who is at fault.  But maybe that just my crazy radical anarchist ideas again.   ;)
Statistically these things are safer, and in theory, they should save the gov't money in the long run.  I don't get into accidents because I pay attention to other people. 

Ditto.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Kat Kanning on February 05, 2008, 10:48 AM NHFT
Ditto on the retarded two lane thing.  ::)
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Pat McCotter on February 05, 2008, 12:31 PM NHFT
Magic Roundabout (Swindon) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_%28Swindon%29)




I've flipped the attached image to see it through American eyes.
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: Kat Kanning on February 05, 2008, 05:24 PM NHFT
Give me a couple months to wrap my brain around that one.  :o
Title: Re: Roundabout in Keene
Post by: hwrnhetcxyc on February 05, 2008, 05:27 PM NHFT
I like the simple one-lane ones. IIRC, the one in front of the Keene hospital is one lane.