Why Roundabouts?
They are different from what we normally encounter when we drive anywhere across the state of Minnesota. But in a recent study released by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the state’s nearly 200 roundabouts are reducing serious injuries and saving lives. That’s one of the reasons why Beltrami County is adding four roundabouts along a short stretch of Division Street in Bemidji.
With Bemidji’s first real roundabout nearing completion, the county has been taking many questions as to where the next roundabouts will be built and why they are needed.
In Brainerd, three roundabouts were constructed in 2012 and since then, the area has seen an uptick in traffic. Officials say it’s a learning curve that takes some getting used to.
MnDOT says that there was a 42% reduction in injury crash rates through the use of roundabouts. As they become more common across the state, officials expect more people to prefer the use of roundabouts.
With only the finishing touches remaining on Bemidji’s first one, construction on three more roundabouts are scheduled to be built late next spring.
All that remains to be completed on Bemidji’s first roundabout is the installation of lights, and pavement striping, weather permitting.
Lakeland News is member supported content. Please consider supporting Lakeland News today.
People using the road make mistakes, 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 and sideswipe geometry mean that, more often than not, when a crash does happen at a modern roundabout, you usually need a tow truck, not an ambulance. Roundabouts are one of nine proven road safety features (FHWA).
The life saved may be your own.