Roundabouts on University Avenue 1

Roundabouts on University Avenue 2

Roundabouts are despised by many people, but new information has proven them to be

beneficial to the city. University Avenue in Waterloo and Cedar Falls both have always had an

issue when it comes to pot holes, accidents, and people not being careful when driving. The city

of Cedar Falls is attempting to find a solution to fix those issues starting in 2016. Roundabouts

are the better of the three options for the city of Cedar Falls, due to roundabouts being the key

factor in the decreases of car collisions and other safety features (Federal Highway

Administration, 2010). The three options are to leave them all as traffic signals, leave six as

traffic signals and convert two to roundabouts, and the final idea was to convert six to

roundabouts and leave two as traffic signals (Waterloo/Cedar Falls courier, 2015). Roundabouts

are safer and decrease the potential for head-on and turning collisions, they cause people to slow

down and pay attention when driving, but also improve travel time as well as being the least

expensive route to go.

Roundabouts are circular intersections with specific designs and traffic control features.

A roundabout typically have yield signs as well as signs telling you the speed you should be

going when approaching the roundabout intersection (Federal Highway Administration, 2010).

Roundabouts are the safer and better option for Cedar Falls because of the decrease in head-on

and turning collisions than a traditional intersection. According to the Highway Administration

(2010) in Minnesota one intersection on a highway was converted into a roundabout to improve

safety and reduce crashes. Before the roundabout was put in within a 36 month range there were

19 crashes, 14 injury crashes, and 18 angle crashes (T-crash) with one fatality. After the

roundabout was put in within a 24 month range there were 3 crashes total, 2 injury crashes and 0

angle crashes. “Reduction in crashes/year 76.7% total crashes, 78.7% injury crashes and 100%

angle crashes.” (Federal Highway Administration, 2010). Looking at these decreasing stats

Roundabouts on University Avenue 3

means that the roundabouts created a safer way of travel and that is good. These are some of the

reasons why it would be a good idea for Cedar Falls to put roundabouts on University Avenue.

It is anticipated that roundabouts will make people drive slower, pay attention when

driving, but also improve travel time when approaching the roundabout. Roundabouts decrease

travel time by traffic constantly moving rather than stops and delays like normal traffic signals

have. The way people approach the roundabout is key to getting through it successfully. Putting

rumble strips right before a roundabout could be helpful. It is necessary to slow down when

driving into a roundabout and that is another reason why roundabouts are a good idea for Cedar

Falls. One key is to make people drive slower and make traffic flow smoother than ever before

which also plays a part in keeping collisions at a minimum (Flannery, 1999). At roundabouts

people drive in the same direction all the time, which eliminates the right-angle and left-turn

crashes. There is a high priority with speed control on roundabouts and speed control can be

successful at all times of the day when putting roundabouts on a road instead of a traditional

intersection (Robinson & Bared, 2000).

Roundabouts are the least expensive of three different ideas that Cedar Falls and Foth

construction out of Cedar Rapids came up with. That is another reason why roundabouts would

be the better choice for Cedar Falls because it is an amount that we can afford. When it comes to

common sense people tend to choose something that is the least expensive. The first of the three

ideas was to leave them all as traffic signals and the cost for that was 33.2 million dollars. The

second of the three ideas was to leave six as traffic signals and convert two to roundabouts and

that idea was going to cost the city 34 million dollars. The third and final idea which was the idea

that they actually chose was convert six to roundabouts and leave two as traffic signals and the

cost for that idea was 32.5 million dollars. There will be six roundabouts added to University

Roundabouts on University Avenue 4

Avenue and keeping two traffic signals at the intersections of Rownd Street and Midway Drive.

University Avenue will be reduced from six lanes to four lanes (Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier,

2015). The goal they are aiming for is to find the least expensive way to fix the road and make

sure the road maintains safe and secure for the citizens of Waterloo/Cedar Falls area and that is

just this. Roundabouts seem to be the better choice for our community even though others may

not agree.

There are many reasons as to why people would not want roundabouts to be put in on

University Avenue. While roundabouts may reduce the amount of head-on and turning

collisions, roundabouts also increase the risk of people not yielding to the correct side and

running through the yield sign in which can cause cars to collide into the side of another car or

rear-end another car. This means that cars side-swipe other cars due to failing to yield and this

is considered a traffic violation (Flannery, 1999).

Many of the accidents that happen on roundabouts are when people approach

roundabouts at excessive speeds. Many out of control accidents start when people fail to reduce

their speeds and approach the curve of the roundabout (Flannery, 1999). “Critics argue that they

are less safe, and unable to handle higher volume traffic in a metro area like University Avenue

and will cost more than expected” (Foth, Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier, 2015). Many people do

not know how to drive in roundabouts. People learn about roundabouts when they take Drivers

Education in high school, but are not taken to actually drive through the roundabout. Another

problem that comes up is that many people who drive on University Avenue are older adults who

have never driven on a roundabout because they are just simply not common. It may be hard for

people to adjust to having the roundabouts put in and may cause more collisions due to people

not knowing how to use them correctly (Jacquemart, 1998). People do not know how to drive on

Roundabouts on University Avenue 5

them, but once people learn how to drive on them and get used to them then it should not be a

huge deal. When it comes to the situation of people not knowing how to drive on a roundabout

there are many things that we could do as a community to educate these drivers so they are safe

as well as other people being safe when driving. The city could possibly hold classes on the

subject or even like mentioned before many young adults know how to drive on them due to

Drivers Education so that means ask the young adults to show you how to drive on them by

simply asking them to ride along.

I interviewed two people to see what their opinions of the roundabouts being put in on

University Avenue in 2016. These were the questions I asked: what is your opinion on the

roundabouts that are being put in on University Avenue, do you know how to drive on a

roundabout, and do you think that roundabouts are a good or bad idea as well as do you think

they are safer. One person gave me their input, but not so detailed even though he was for them

being put in and the other person gave me a very long detailed response for why she is against

them. The first person I asked those questions to was Daniel Paulson a friend of mine and his

response was,

I think the roundabouts are a good idea and they are going to cut down some confusion

and problems in the long run. People are going to have to get used to them first so it’s

going to be stressful since we are not going to be used to it but over time it will be better

(Paulson, 2015).

The second person I asked was one of my best friends Amber Simmerman and she said,

I feel that roundabouts can cause confusion and traffic backups during heavy traffic times

and this is the last thing we need on one of the busiest roads in the county. I have been

Roundabouts on University Avenue 6

driving for six years and I do know how to drive roundabouts, but as I near a roundabout

I feel my anxiety grows and I start to second guess my judgement when it comes to

things such as estimating the distance another car needs to be from me to allow myself an

adequate amount of time to navigate the roundabout safely. I have also [driven] through

roundabouts during snow storms and feel that they are ridiculously unsafe, unlike a stop

light where one has a clear signaled time to drive through the intersection you have to not

only worry about if the other drivers will see you coming so they can yield, but if they

will even be able to come to a stop to yield to you. I personally dislike the idea of

roundabouts for a few different reasons, one being the decrease from three lanes to two

lanes per direction. There have been many times throughout my driving career where all

three lanes have been completely full, I can only imagine how full it will be with only

two lanes per direction.

Amber’s family owns a snow removal company and she said, “They are terrible when it comes

to plowing. The curbs get torn up by the blade and cause really bad drifting as the snow in the

middle of the roundabout blows onto the road causing them to be plowed more frequently”

(Simmerman, 2015). The main reason that roundabouts are a great change for University Avenue

is because of the collisions reductions.

Roundabouts are safer and decrease the potential for head-on and turning collisions, they

cause people to slow down and pay attention when driving, but also improving travel time and it

is the least expensive route to go. Roundabouts are the better of the three options for the city of

Cedar Falls due to roundabouts being the key factor in the decreases of car collisions, other

safety features and is the least expensive route to go. All though roundabouts are very annoying,

Roundabouts on University Avenue 7

and despised by many people, roundabouts are the safer route to go for the city and that is what

we all need to be more concerned with not just the fact that people do not like them.

Roundabouts on University Avenue 8

Works Cited

Anderson, M. (2015, February 22). Cedar Falls Unveils Plans for University Avenue. Retrieved March 23, 2015, from http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/cedar-falls-unveils-plans-for-university-avenue/article_0c8c6c32-02f9-53e4-bc79-e42b5543b057.html

Flannery, A., & Elefteriadou, L. (1999, March). A review of roundabout safety performance in the United States. In Proceedings of the 69th Annual Meeting of the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

Jacquemart, G. (1998). Modern Roundabout Practice in the United States. A Synthesis of Highway Practice. Retrieved March 26, 2015.

Robinson, B., & Bared, J. (2000). Roundabouts: An informational guide ([Rev. ed.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration.

Simmerman, Amber, and Daniel Paulson. "Opinion on Roundabouts." Email interview. 7 April. 2015.

Stone, J., & Pillalamarri, K. (2002). The Effects of Roundabouts on Pedestrian Safety. Retrieved March 31, 2015.