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Pedestrians
and bicyclists have been concerned about the installation of roundabouts
and their safety when maneuvering them. The good news is that
the slower speeds associated with the roundabout translates to
less severe injury in a vehicle/pedestrian crash and, as mentioned
elsewhere in this website, roundabouts reduce the number of crashes.
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Note above, the additional width where pedestrians
and bicyclists share the same path.
The
Grand Junction photo above shows two on-street bike
lanes that transition to the multi-use pathway to allow
the bikes to maneuver the roundabout without joining
the vehicles in the roundabout--they then transition
to on-street lanes on the other legs of the roundabout
intersection.
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In October
1999, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, published
a "Literature
Review on Vehicle Travel Speeds and Pedestrian Injuries."
The objectives of the review were to 1) reaffirm and quantify
the relationship between vehicle speeds and pedestrian crash
severities; 2) describe techniques to reduce vehicle speeds
and 3) make recommendations for countermeasure programs to be
tested.
The report
notes the 1995 statistics that showed about 84,000 pedestrian
injuries and 5,585 pedestrian fatalities (NHTSA, 1996). The NHTSA
statistics for 2000 show 78,000 pedestrian injuries and 4,739
fatalities.
The Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety - Crash
Reductions Following Installation of Roundabouts in the United
States", a statistical report of the Insurance Institute
for Highway Safety - 582 KB download in PDF format
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PEDESTRIANS
BICYCLISTS
