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July 25, 2011· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

Main Street’s Roundabout

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

Savvy management of public space & traffic flow or recipe for vehicular chaos not to mention an erosion of our personal freedoms (as per the ICLEI manifesto)? You decide:

An embedded YouTube video appeared here in the original post. View the original — embeds are preserved as links in this archive.

I particularly like the renderings of pedestrians scurrying to get across the street as the speeding SCV motorists bear down on them with righteous fury. But at least there are safety islands between the lanes.

Comments (30)

  1. 4eyedsueJuly 25, 2011 at 10:11 am
    Nightmare – it’s right by the DMV!
  2. Phil EllisJuly 25, 2011 at 12:20 pm
    The DMV is quite a ways from there. Almost to Lyons.
  3. Alan FerdmanJuly 25, 2011 at 10:18 am
    It looks like the plan is to funnel 3 lanes of traffic down to one? Great idea to if you want to slow traffic to a halt during rush hour. This is a waste of time, taxpayer’s money and road resources. Might as well just put in 3 way stop signs.
  4. lstaedtlerJuly 25, 2011 at 3:27 pm
    Alan, there’s only one lane on this part of Newhall Avenue already. Not sure where you are getting the funneling from 3 to 1 lanes. Two lanes turn right at Railroad already. Maybe confused about the location in the video??
  5. ScvFanJuly 27, 2011 at 5:52 pm
    alan…clearly you have never traveled anywhere outside of the USA…or california for the matter. These roundabouts are used everywhere and help traffic not hurt it.
  6. CCJuly 25, 2011 at 10:32 am
    CARMAGEDDON!!! (part deux)
  7. IHeartSCVJuly 25, 2011 at 10:41 am
    I like the pedestrians, too–they’re quantum people, popping into and out of existence, just long enough to make a street crossing.
  8. LarMccJuly 25, 2011 at 10:50 am
    This artists rendering us unrealistic. It actually shows traffic going down and coming from Main Street. We all know no one goes down there since the city re-aligned the street.
  9. MikeJuly 25, 2011 at 11:05 am
    Since my days as a Woodstock-eating, Safeway-shopping, causeway-crossing, domed house-mocking undergrad, I have appreciated the advantages of circles in the right circumstances. Science agrees. Thing is, people don’t like them until they’re used to it. It’s disorienting. If you are looking to persuade a skeptical public, rendering a double-speed simulation might not be the best idea.
  10. Alan FerdmanJuly 25, 2011 at 11:49 am
    Mike Isn’t there also a street missing? The transition should show a transition to Railroad Ave, Main Street and Newhall Ave?
  11. MikeJuly 25, 2011 at 12:14 pm
    I *think* RR ave is a good 500ft from this intersection.
  12. Phil EllisJuly 25, 2011 at 12:24 pm
    Alan, I beleive the missing street is the that Newhall Ice is on. Railroad Avenue is not part of this. Just Main and Newhall. This is intented to smooth traffic transition from Newhall Ave. to Newhall Ave. (formerly San Fernando Rd.) As part of the process the sharp turn will be eliminated. No extra points will be given for extra trips around the circle.
  13. Alan FerdmanJuly 26, 2011 at 6:52 am
    Thanks for the clarification.
  14. CCJuly 25, 2011 at 11:52 am
    Well, and there are no SUV driving, cell-phone talking, supercilious pudding throwers in the example either. AS IF!
  15. BrookJuly 27, 2011 at 2:29 pm
    You sound like a Davis Grad – I remember them putting a roundabout in my Davis neighborhood – the most entertaining part was watching cars go round and round trying to figure it out. “Big Ben, Parlement!”
  16. MikeJuly 27, 2011 at 3:05 pm
    Davis yes. Grad yes (eventually). Davis grad? Didn’t quite happen. Long story. Go Aggies!
  17. NFICJuly 25, 2011 at 12:57 pm
    I like the semi that takes out the brick in the center island…
  18. lstaedtlerJuly 25, 2011 at 3:22 pm
    Good eye NFIC. The brick (or whatever it will be) is decorative and is flush with the asphalt with the intention of trucks being able to drive on it to make their turn. Its part of a standard traffic circle design.
  19. joshmannJuly 25, 2011 at 1:13 pm
    I think this a great solution! With the closure of 5th Street, a traffic circle makes perfect sense. It will slow down vehicular traffic entering Main Street, while maintaining the flow along Newhall Avenue. Also, its a nice gateway to Old Town that can be enhanced with public art.
  20. PetzJuly 25, 2011 at 1:51 pm
    We can name it Trinity-Three in One !
  21. AnAtheistJuly 25, 2011 at 5:01 pm
    Maybe we can put a statue of Baby Jesus in the center… Also, we should put a sign up at each entry point that says, “Pray before entry.” No that it’ll do any good, but it might make people a little more cautious than the traffic planners who thought this one out.
  22. SaugushomeownerJuly 25, 2011 at 5:06 pm
    Make sure it is in Spanish.
  23. LarMccJuly 25, 2011 at 6:15 pm
    No, the sign should say: Pray before entry. It should not have quotes. Petz is busy enough fighting other things.
  24. CCJuly 25, 2011 at 9:19 pm
    Actually, I already plan to take up my retirement career yelling at cars at that site.
  25. SaugushomeownerJuly 25, 2011 at 5:09 pm
    Also amazing is not one car went from southbound Newhall to northbound Main Street. That poor buisness at the corner is going to get no cars coming to it.
  26. James FarleyJuly 25, 2011 at 6:04 pm
    Having taken a few unrelated trips around the Southwest this Spring/Summer I’ve had the opportunity to see roundabouts in action. Sedona, Arizona puts these to great use. There are only a few signals in town. The rest of the intersections are controlled by roundabouts. It takes a while to get used to them but they are a great way to calm traffic while reducing time waiting for the red light to change. Grand Junction, CO uses them too at appropriate intersections. This intersection in Newhall is a very appropriate intersection for the use of a rotary. While it is likely the most inappropriate intersection for this concept, I would love to see some out of the box thinking to create the first “Grand Roundabout” in America at Bouquet Junction. It’s actually already been done in Paris around the Arch De Triumph. I remember walking across that one at the advice of someone saying “don’t worry the drivers won’t hit you”. So here is my proposal – Let’s move the McDonald’s and gas stations into a middle island and create the first American Grand Roundabout in the SCV.
  27. LarMccJuly 25, 2011 at 6:21 pm
    I was in CO as well the past couple weeks. There are many cities that use them. Even the dumb GPS knew how to tell me to navigate them. I am on board for the Bouquet Junction roundabout. Watching all those cars trying to use it at once would be a site to see. The businesses in the center would be a bonus. Who says Paris should get all the glory, we can top them.
  28. ToddJuly 25, 2011 at 8:11 pm
    Roundabound.
  29. spineflower2July 26, 2011 at 7:10 am
    Traffic FAIL. Circles work when there is a steady flow of traffic. Traffic lights disrupt this and send “pulses” of traffic thruogh the circle, bring it to a halt. There are too many trafficlights near this intersectin to make one here practical. Thsi is why the big circle in Castaic is such a pain. Add delivery trucks to the mix and it gets even worse. The traffic people need a dope slap to their foreheads for thinking this is a good idea.
  30. BrookJuly 27, 2011 at 2:31 pm
    The Castaic circle is scary at times. I am not a traffic engineer though – I will leave the statistics and effectiveness up to people who are experts.

Preserved as part of the SCV Talk Archive. Text is presented as originally published; presentation has been standardised for readability. The original capture is available at the Internet Archive.

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