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TheBroox t1_jaghfel wrote

Your traffic circle is fucked. The interior lane can't double as a turn lane if the exterior lane isn't forced to exit. You will end up with people on the inner circle trying to exit through people on the outside lane trying to continue around the circle.

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nyuhokie t1_jahhscj wrote

"Hey look kids, there's Big Ben CVS, and there's Parliament 7-11."

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Other_Ad39 OP t1_jagku1e wrote

I seem to have missed a crucial flaw, I’ll fix that at some point.

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carmen_cygni t1_jah8nxm wrote

> The interior lane can't double as a turn lane if the exterior lane isn't forced to exit

Apparently you've never been to Massachusetts.

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The_Kentwood_Farms t1_jahp6lt wrote

Yes! I grew up in a small MA town that hinged on two rotaries. There was no signage, people just knew how to navigate them, people drove through them like raped apes, but there was still very little issues because folks just knew how to use them.

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RVAWTFBBQ t1_jai5dbz wrote

>small MA town that hinged on two rotaries.

I can't read that word without hearing it said in a thick Boston accent in my head.

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The_Kentwood_Farms t1_jai7355 wrote

Whenever I hear someone say "round-about", I immediately respond with, "ah, you mean rohtahree"

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LowLifeHighJinx t1_jaia8ax wrote

Whenever I hear it I think, "That's a really tall toddler." round-a-bout is baby talk.

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The_Kentwood_Farms t1_jaic0lh wrote

It's very British sounding, they love terms like "washing up liquid" instead of dish soap.

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LowLifeHighJinx t1_jaioie2 wrote

Ah yes, the Bri'ish. Rounabout, brolly, pram, Wellies. They do love their ickle babyisms.

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carmen_cygni t1_jaied13 wrote

Yep, no instructions, just a free-for-all. Exiting from the inner lane is a part of everyday life.

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PussyKatzzz t1_jaggmvy wrote

Looks cool! But come on, we both know no one driving in that circle is going to actually stop for peds trying to cross.

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gravy_boot t1_jahazu6 wrote

I’m no traffic engineer but couldn’t there be stop lights hooked to ped xing buttons? I think DC has examples of this although those circles are bigger, not sure if size limits here would be an issue.

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10698 t1_jahcdz2 wrote

Traffic signals have no place in a traffic circle. That's how you end up with dysfunctional clusterf*cks like the Fairfax Circle.

https://ggwash.org/view/3181/make-fairfax-circle-a-real-circle

"This circle has a series of lights, which effectively kills any chance of it being a true traffic circle. This also makes merging into the circle difficult, because given the light cycle the circle may be filled with stopped cars which often create their own lanes."

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Utretch t1_jajvct4 wrote

Not strictly true you can have set ups where pedestrians are given right of way intermittently. You can even make them smart unlike our ancient timer based systems.

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gravy_boot t1_jahmt7t wrote

I was basing this on the presumption in the comment I replied to that it's not safe for pedestrians as a standard no-lights circle (not that I necessarily agree with that), and thinking more along the lines of Dupont/Logan where there are light-controlled xing areas inside the circle between the corners, allowing peds to move around the circle and into the common area in the middle.

> "This circle has a series of lights, which effectively kills any chance of it being a true traffic circle. ..."

But is it better than an 8-lane 4-way stop light?

> " This also makes merging into the circle difficult, because given the light cycle the circle may be filled with stopped cars which often create their own lanes."

The in the dc examples, the inner/outer lanes are physically separated so this doesn't happen.

Another thought would be to let ped x-ing buttons control the existing lights one block out from the circle, to stem the flow of cars long enough to cross without snarling the traffic already in the circle.

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SadValleyThrowaway t1_jalrnrd wrote

A lot of the roundabouts in the us have traffic signals. Shit many don’t even have lane dividers

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lafleurricky t1_jahmf5t wrote

Walking through some of DC’s circle is hell enough but they also take a long time to drive through.

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LowLifeHighJinx t1_jaie6ks wrote

I got trapped on DuPont once for 5 or 6 loops. I was finally able to exit, but not where I wanted. I just made my escape when I saw a chance.

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gravy_boot t1_jaho4qv wrote

This is true, but the alternative would likely be worse considering those intersections move a lot of people/cars, and wouldn't support the large central common areas. Broad/Boulevard may not be big enough for this, although it's bordered by things a lot of people wouldn't miss if they were gobbled up by an expansion...

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Newyew22 t1_jagxfnc wrote

Bless you for thinking Virginia drivers know the first thing about navigating traffic circles safely.

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10698 t1_jahe1kj wrote

🙋‍♂️ This one does.

And yet I also agree with you 100%.

In Driver's Ed, western Hanover County circa 1995, traffic circles got about 10 seconds of instructional time. I still remember being told we'd never see one unless we went to Gordonsville or Northern Virginia.

I love them and breeze right through, but I trust nobody else who's in or near the circle. Head on a swivel, foot ready on the brake pedal.

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fractalflatulence t1_jah7zuk wrote

Is the pulse supposed to kick flip over that rotary or what?

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againer t1_jagsdea wrote

With the way people drive in this city, this thing is guaranteed to be a 6 to 8 car pile up regularly.

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t_minus_420 t1_jagffyh wrote

Where’s Channelos?

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Ytijhdoz54 t1_jana1jr wrote

Its still there as the little redish and black building but they killed the subway 100%. Imo the combo of the two is classic Boulevard and Broad.

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plummbob t1_jagspzw wrote

Tweek the inner turn lane.

Wild that half the usable land area in that picture is just parking.

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DefaultSubsAreTerrib t1_jah3eoe wrote

>half the usable land area in that picture is just parking

Get on satellite view, that's true for so much of Richmond

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gdtrfb804 t1_jagdbho wrote

Very cool! I like how you ran the bus lanes under the roundabout. Now all you need to top it off is a Lavar Stony statue in the middle. 😂

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Other_Ad39 OP t1_jage4b5 wrote

Yes! Maybe a statue of the former police chief right next to him as well.

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justblahetoday t1_jah1iya wrote

You should just start repainting the lines like Kramer did.

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DefaultSubsAreTerrib t1_jah2qx8 wrote

I like that the medians give pedestrians a safe stepping stone to cross the street half at a time instead of waiting for the rare case when the whole road to stop for them. I really think pedestrian islands like these make it much safer to cross.

I'm not sure that traffic circles like these make anyone safer though. It seems like there would continuously be traffic, making it harder for pedestrians to cross even half way

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SlapDaddySlaps t1_jah1fen wrote

This looks like a nightmare. Richmond would totally approve

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RJT_RVA t1_jag932l wrote

God I love this (even though the bus lanes won't ever happen due to Museum District NIMBYs) A+ high effort post.

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wellthatsoundsgreat t1_jah6i56 wrote

The bus lanes already exist in real life though.

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Soloemilia t1_jaga6rh wrote

Can you label CVS and subway and 7-11 por favor?

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Other_Ad39 OP t1_jagat8y wrote

I ain’t gonna lie, I think the subway building is kinda ugly so I erased it in the image. :p but I gotchu on the others.

https://preview.redd.it/z6u1ad9fv3la1.png?width=2048&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=20e5ba074e087e5d92c0e4cd8557c49f0c972492

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Captain_Tiberius t1_jahd4i9 wrote

Fun fact: that Subway building is weird looking because it used to be a White Tower, an old rival of White Castle.

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Colt1911-45 t1_jakxt1x wrote

Why in the actual bleep would someone want to replace a White Castle clone with a lousy fake meat and bread Subway?

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Density_Allocation t1_jah6yrh wrote

Traffic circles are pretty good for a safe and efficient flow of cars (if they know how to use it) but they’re not really great for pedestrians. With a constant flow of car and bus traffic, there’s not really any chance for pedestrians to cross. Other than that I think it’s a pretty great idea!

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airquotesNotAtWork t1_jahhdz9 wrote

You’d want the pedestrian crosswalks to be a few feet back from the circle for better visibility. Overall not a viable solution for this intersection especially with a bus tunnel lol

I do really like the changes to the intersections with Marshall and Meyers though!

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piratestears t1_jahl3j6 wrote

Now redevelop the parking lots around it and this could be like a mini-Dupont Circle.

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Notthatianmcewan t1_jahoxpk wrote

Maybe a statue in the green space. What could go wrong?

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Mr_Boneman t1_jahqc2p wrote

Cries in cities skylines.

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Colt1911-45 t1_jaky1hn wrote

Biffa would add a pedestrian bridge with the round a bout tool.

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szeis4cookie t1_jahrcty wrote

That will flow cars better, at the expense of pedestrians trying to cross. I'm not sure how you fix that without defeating the purpose of the roundabout - if you move the crosswalks back from the intersection car traffic wouldn't yield unless you put in a traffic light, and if you put in a traffic light you're right back where you started. Ped bridges/underpasses add expense and ADA compliance complexity.

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BureauOfBureaucrats t1_jahzt1m wrote

Rotaries ideally have 1 more lane than the roads going into it, to be used as a left turn-only lane. Otherwise, it’s perfect. Putting the PULSE underneath is a wonderful idea.

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JoeMorrisseysSperm t1_jahgdxe wrote

Is that a fucking bus tunnel? Bro draw something less realistic.

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Aliecatruns t1_jahjjdl wrote

Just what we need. Another traffic circle nobody knows how to use correctly!

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[deleted] t1_jahnhdj wrote

I like the idea but lets be real if you put a roundabout anywhere on broad so many people would die

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Moxy-Proxy t1_jahrp5j wrote

That’s great! I would only show 1 right turn lane instead of two.

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anapunas t1_jai6qv2 wrote

Eh, it seems that richmond planners have limited knowledge of pedestrian safety too. And they're supposed to be the experts... so your professional level.

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weapnx20 t1_jajemzt wrote

Wait a minute, this isn’t city skylines

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smellymob t1_jakkpxy wrote

Big no on the tunnels for me

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picklingspice t1_jaklm2s wrote

eh. Close enough. Can't really draw double turn/double straight lanes like that though which is exactly why roundabouts are always so annoyingly complicated.

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Farmerjoerva t1_jajowyp wrote

You definitely haven’t lived in Richmond very long that would be an absolute nightmare, and people would die

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SadValleyThrowaway t1_jals0zx wrote

It would sort out the weak and those who can’t traffic circle

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Farmerjoerva t1_jam9ftu wrote

It would also cause major traffic jams and have multiple accidents to compound the issue.

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mize68 t1_jaio5ot wrote

Keep to your day job.

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