Monday, October 7, 2013

It's No Myth: Roundabouts Have Higher Capacity

Mythbusters found that a roundabout has a capacity about 20% higher than an intersection controlled by four-way stop signs.  Roundabout professionals who viewed the episode commented that the roundabout, as laid-out, could have absorbed even more traffic. One professional contended that, with proper geometry, the roundabout could have absorbed as many as 2,200 vehicles in an hour.  Another roundabout expert opined that the roundabout would have further outshone the conventional intersection had pedestrians taken part in the test.