Town Council ahead of the curve with talk of traffic roundabout

I’ll be the round about
The words will make you out ‘n’ out
I’ll spend the day your way ...
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley ...

When Jon Anderson and Steve Howe of the band Yes penned the 1970s classic “Roundabout,” they were describing a drive through the Scottish countryside. Flash forward 40 years, and a drive through Culpeper may resemble the experience — at least for one intersection.

According to Thursday’s Star-Exponent (“Roundabout concept resurfaces”), Town Council voted unanimously, and reportedly without discussion, to include a roundabout at the intersection of Route 229 and North Main Street (between Wendy’s and McDonalds) as part of the Route 229 widening project.

The vote came after John Giometti, an engineer with the Culpeper District of the Virginia Department of Transportation, informed the council that VDOT had determined a roundabout to be “a viable option” for the intersection — which could eventually include an exit to the town’s “inner loop” road connecting the area to Sperryville Pike (U.S. 522) at Virginia Avenue.

Where the idea of a roundabout on a U.S. or Virginia road may once have seemed out of place, the intersections are gaining in use because they’re safer, more efficient for traffic flow and require less maintenance.

According to the VDOT Web site, there are “at least 40 roundabouts opened to traffic and 51 planned in different stages of development” statewide (with an average of one new proposed roundabout coming up for review per week.)

“In recent years,” VDOT states, roundabouts “have been used here in the United States to reduce crashes, traffic delays, fuel consumption, air pollution and construction as well as maintenance costs, while quite often moving more traffic and enhancing intersection beauty. They have also been used to control speed in residential neighborhoods and are accepted as one of the safest types of intersection designs.”

The nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is funded by insurance companies that stand to profit when claims go down, also sees the benefits: “Roundabouts, used in place of stop signs and traffic signals ... can significantly improve traffic flow and safety.”

And the IIHS also notes the added benefit of reduced gas consumption: “At 10 intersections studied in Virginia, this amounted to more than 200,000 gallons of fuel per year.”

And the Federal Highway Administration, when studying the safety record of roundabouts, found that they:

- reduce fatalities up to 90 percent
- reduce injury crashes 76 percent
- reduce pedestrian crashes 30 percent to 40 percent.

So they’re safer, more efficient and don’t require a “rocket scientist” to navigate. In fact, they require reduced speeds, which should make every driver in Culpeper better — especially those who now complain that us “slowpokes” actually going the speed limit are in their way.

Roundabouts look like a great idea just waiting for those with the insight to implement them.

I applaud Town Council for not being afraid to be ahead of the curve. A roundabout will certainly make that intersection safer (particularly for those trying to turn left from Route 229 onto Bus. 29). And years from now, we won’t question the decision as traffic flows through that area with the rhythm of a symphony orchestra.

Clements’ column runs every Monday.