Lee MPO hears from international roundabout expert and discusses Lee County opportunities

Thanks again to Councilman Flanders, MPO Director Don Scott, and FDOT Secretary Billy Hattaway for organizing an excellent presentation by international expert Michael Wallwork on the uses and benefits of roundabouts.

 

In case you missed Michael Wallwork's Nov. 16th presentation on roundabouts, click below to see his powerpoint presentation:

PowerPoint Presentation from the November 16th MPO Board meeting given by Michael Wallwork.

 

Michael Wallwork

Mr. Wallwork's presentation covered:  

•  What a  roundabout is and differences from a traffic circle
• What is the benefit of roundabouts – safety, crash reduction, lower conflict points etc.

• Pedestrian/bicyclists use, crossings and safety  

• General cost and maintenance of roundabouts versus signals
•  Types of roundabouts and where used (Tee, offset, freeway interchanges etc.)
• Common design problems and driving of them
• Visual amenities included with roundabouts 

MPO Staff Director, Don Scott gave an overview of the roundabouts being developed around the County and the status of those (existing, planned or in local government plans). The  MPO Board voted to have Don work with local jurisdictions to develop a comprehensive list of possible roundabouts in the County and will come back to the Board with a feasibility analysis and recommendations. 

Several citizens from the American Council of Blind spoke about their concerns that roundabouts were not safe for the blind, and some suggestions were offered about how to make them work better for the blind and disabled.  Dan Moser, Vice-Chair of BPCC, spoke in support of roundabouts, citing statistics showing the safety benefits of roundabouts for pedestrians and cyclists.  

Ann Pierce of BikeWalkLee thanked the Board and staff for bringing this presentation to the Board and suggested that something like this be done on a quarterly basis so that the Board can have a chance to learn from experts and other communities about best practices on a host of transportation issues, such as road diets, and mobility plans and fee systems.

See BikeWalkLee's Oct. 24th blog story about the presentation.