Re:The Case for More Traffic Roundabouts
by Cyph0n on Saturday September 19, 2015 @03:32AM
(#10243599)
I live in a city called Al Ain in the UAE. It's quite known for the sheer number of roundabouts. Due to heavy congestion at some of them, they've started replacing them with either intersections or roundabouts with lights.
How does congestion happen? A roundabout typically has four entrances. During peak traffic, one of these entrances might get clogged. This one side causes the other four sides delays due to right of way. Say a buildup forms at another side because of the delay. The other sides will be even more affected. This snowball effect is usually what causes congestion at peak traffic.
Traffic intersections on the other hand are immune to this issue because the delay depends solely on the light's timing, making it way more predictable.
How does congestion happen? A roundabout typically has four entrances. During peak traffic, one of these entrances might get clogged. This one side causes the other four sides delays due to right of way. Say a buildup forms at another side because of the delay. The other sides will be even more affected. This snowball effect is usually what causes congestion at peak traffic.
Traffic intersections on the other hand are immune to this issue because the delay depends solely on the light's timing, making it way more predictable.