* * Getting the roundabout

Heat frustration is not a clinical term, but I can’t imagine a more descriptive one.

I’m sitting in traffic -- in truth, I’m standing in traffic because when you’re not moving an inch on a motorcycle, you’re more standing than sitting -- and the sweat on this hot day is dripping from my face inside my helmet. I’m at the infamous intersection of Cambria and Franklin Streets in north Christiansburg, waiting for the light to change. And I’m wondering why we have lights at all.

I’ve had the opportunity to travel to many other countries, both first- and second-world, and almost universally, the “roundabout” or traffic circle is the design of choice for busy intersections, rather than four-way traffic lights.

It makes sense that standard four-way intersections are common. When two intersecting roads crossed, the obvious way to lessen accidents was to regulate passage by traffic lights. Simple. Easy. Yet they are terribly inefficient and burdensome to drivers. And dangerous.

Roundabouts offer many advantages over conventional intersections. There are fewer conflict points because movement is consistent, being circular. They force lower speeds, making the crashes that do happen less serious. They better accommodate pedestrian movement. They are more aesthetically pleasing. And they significantly reduce fuel consumption and emissions because there is less idling.

In the early part of the 20^th Century, traffic approaching the roundabout had right-of-way to traffic already in it. This created confusion and congestion. Switching this in favor of the traffic in the circle has alleviated much of that problem.

There are only a couple of roundabouts I know of in the county, both in Blacksburg. One in particular at North Main and Prices Fork road was controversial at the time it was conceived and constructed, but the fears people had about it were largely proven to be unwarranted. I asked Blacksburg Mayor Ron Rordam his thoughts. He wrote to me, “When (that) roundabout was proposed…, like many, I was a skeptic. I started doing research. I called mayors across the country who were great supporters of roundabouts. And, I went to places that had roundabouts and tried them out.”

Now that it has been completed, he said, “it has been a tremendous success. Many of the vocal critics have changed their mind. There are many people who have come up to me and confessed they were opposed, but they were wrong.”

FINALLY I see the vehicles in front of me begin to inch forward. I pull in the clutch, put the bike back in gear, and begin to ride again. The line is long, and as I approach the intersection, I sense that every driver hopes he or she won’t be caught as it turns yellow, forcing the decision whether to keep moving or stop. It turns yellow while five cars are still in front of me, and four scoot through on yellow, the last on red. I’m stopped again, waiting through the next sequence.

This intersection in particular lends itself to a roundabout, as there are actually five rather than four ingress points: northbound on Franklin from downtown, eastbound and westbound on Cambria Street, southbound from the mall, and southbound from the US-460 bypass. It is rare to approach this intersection and sail right through.

One drawback of roundabouts is that they require more space. However, at this particular intersection, VDOT already owns a substantial amount of land. The ability of a roundabout to accommodate higher volumes of traffic increases with the diameter of the circle.

It is easy to see the improvement in traffic flow at roundabouts versus conventional interchanges when coming into Blacksburg on Prices Fork Road. You stop and wait at University City Boulevard. You stop and wait at West Campus Drive. You stop and wait at Toms Creek Road. Then you generally breeze right through at the roundabout at North Main. Every busy intersection in the region would work better if designed this way.

Rordam said, “Every time I go through the roundabout I am reminded that it is easy to say no to new ideas, harder to say yes. But, saying yes, after research and careful consideration, is what will move us forward as a community.”

When I’ve suggested this to Christiansburg officials, I’ve been met with shrugs of resignation, as if they are victims of the psychology of prior investment: “There is no money.” “We’ve always done it this way.” “It wouldn’t work here.” To be fair, many other Blacksburg interchanges beg for conversion as well; roundabouts need to be the default design rather than the exception.

Finally, the light turns green again and I’m underway, starting to cool down in the breeze but still fuming, wondering about the wasted gasoline and time of thousands of motorists through this and dozens of other area intersections.