[Get Out and Go]

Cashmere has had its roundabout for a year. I'm not opposed to the concept and have seen useful roundabouts in practice, but this one was built in a tight space, so there is no room for error. So many never figure out the basic rule to "Yield to those already in the roundabout." It's a crap shoot every day. That being said, just to lighten up...Roundabout definitely makes the top three for Yes. I'm partial to Owner of a Lonely Heart. How could you not appreciate a song that mentions Free Will? (Just not in the roundabout, please. ) Yours Is No Disgrace also deserves mention. Roundabout Owner of a Lonely Heart Yours Is No Disgrace And they're going to Cleveland this year!

[DigitalJanitor]

No comment on the musical selections, but re the traffic management roundabout: IMO they're a poor choice for snow country. I go through the Roslyn roundabout every day to/from work. Ice is a persistent problem as draining the darn thing is a challenge. If too much snow accumulates in the center it can be impossible to see who's in the circle until they haul around the corner. And for extra fun, watch semis and big snowmobile trailers bang through....

[HitTheTrail]

If you think a roundabout is a hard concept for people in modern society to get used to you should see the reaction when a city of over a hundred thousand that has only ever had roundabouts gets their first traffic light. I experienced that when I was working in the Middle East in the early 1970's.

[treeswarper]

Woe is me, I must tout, I do not get these roundabouts. I go into Chehalis to shop. They put in a road to take some pressure off the other roads as more construction and stores/fast food is going in what is the flood plain. The roundabout by the Walmarche is just a stop sign. Yup a stop sign because just like before, one has to often come to a stop to get into the roundabout. The city spent quite a bit of $$ to replace a stop sign with a pretty round thing. It is easier to get into the Walmarche vortex when going north than it used to be, but harder to escape. Kind of like inside the store, no?

[InFlight]

The one that has always amazed me is Place de l'Étoile in Paris. It's a ten lane round-about with 12 avenues feeding into it. You can watch all this crazy action atop the Arc de Triomphe in the center. It all seems to work, I never saw any accidents there.

[Backpacker Joe]

I was driving a round a bout in Rhode Island a while back and I (going the CORRECT DIRECTION) met a woman (sorry she was a woman) coming at me driving the wrong direction. Guess what, she was on her phone!!!!She looked at me like I was from Saturn. I stayed there until another car came up from my rear and she realized and got off the road. I hate round a bouts.

[Randito]

Roundabouts are great -- I've driven through them in Israel, Spain, France and Japan with no trouble at all. Only American drivers seem confused about how to deal with roundabouts. Perhaps the WA driving exam should include information about how to use them effectively. That might reduce the sort of hold ups that I witness at the roundabouts where West Lake Sammamish Parkway and Lakemont Blvd intersect and the "outlet malls" roundabout in North Bend. All too often my progress through these roundabouts is slowed by drivers than not only have to wait for the roundabout to be empty -- but seem reluctant to enter the roundabout when there is any traffic at all approaching the roundabout. I think it is better to be cautious, but I hope that WA drivers eventually figure out how to navigate roundabouts competently.

[wildernessed]

The roundabouts on SR 97 and 97A are interesting.

[Dalekz]

The roundabouts around here are designed smaller than their counterparts in Europe. They do not include more area to make the circle larger and more navigable as is done with those in France etc. Then there are those designed around my place that loose the 3ft (Narrowing the lane further) of bike lane which goes up onto the sidewalk. Who on their bicycle is going to go up on the sidewalk and then over to a crosswalk to get across a street and then back to the continuation of the road. There also seems to be no standard way of building each roundabout, so each time you go into one, it is different.

[Chief Joseph]

[Randito]

[treeswarper]

Firetrucks/emergency vehicles do not like speedbumps. I have not heard their opinion on roundabouts. I have read where the purpose of a roundabout here in Warshington is to slow traffic down. It sure works for that. Well, kind of.

[Sculpin]

Nothing wrong with roundabouts IMO. I do recall that in one country in Europe, the car in the roundabout yields to vehicles entering the roundabout. I forgot where that was though. Pretty confusing when you are accustomed to the opposite. My (bad) experiences have gone both ways. Stuck behind a car that absolutely will not enter until the roundabout is completely clear. And then another time I will enter properly with ample space, and a car on the other side of the roundabout honks at me because they are still in it.

[Chief Joseph]

[Chief Joseph]

Otoh...I like roundabouts much better than many stoplights. It's very annoying sitting there waiting and waiting, when there is no one coming at all.