Accommodating

Pedestrians &
Cyclists at
Roundabouts
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Accommodating
Pedestrians &
Cyclists at
Roundabouts
Today ’s Presenters

Michael T. McBride Andrew S. Cibor, P.E., PTOE

Vice President, Transportation & Traffic Engineer,

American Structurepoint, City of Bloomington,
Indianapolis, IN, USA Bloomington, IN, USA
Learning Objectives

• Discuss best practices for enhancing the safety and

accessibility of pedestrians and cyclists in and near
roundabout intersections
• Identify the lessons learned by municipal engineers in
communities that want to accommodate all
transportation modes in the safest, most efficient way
feasible.
• Identify safety benefits of roundabouts and learn from
the presenters’ installation and operation of
roundabouts within a jurisdiction that is actively
accomplishing multi-modal, complete street
improvements.
 Survey Question #1

How would you rank your roundabout design

experience on a scale of 1 -5; 1 being complete
novice and 5 being expert?
Ro u ndabout My t h s
Ty p es of C i rc ul ar I nters ec ti ons

ROUNDABOUT
ROUNDABOUT SAFETY
 S afety S t udi es

According to Insurance Institute for

Highway Safety (IIHS):
• In 2012, 683 people were killed and
approximately 133,000 were injured
in the U.S. in crashes that involved
red light running
• Roundabouts have 79% fewer
accidents with injuries than
ordinary intersections and 90%
fewer fatalities
• Since 2000, IIHS has issued
numerous reports promoting the
use of roundabouts
S p e e d Re d uc ti on
Ve h i c ul ar C onf l i c t Poi nts

Total Conflict Points: 8 Total Conflict Points: 32

Ty p es of C ra s hes

Typical 4-leg intersection Roundabout

Angle Left turn Sideswipe

P E D ES T R I A N S & B I C YC L E S
 Survey Question #2

On a scale of 1-5 how would you rank your

perception of the l evel of s afety provided for
pedestrians and cyclists at a typical US modern
roundabout? ( 1 being not s afe at al l and 5 being
ver y s afe)
Pe d e stri an C onf l i c t Poi nts

Pedestrian Conflict Points: 8 Pedestrian Conflict Points: 16

Pe d e stri an/ Ve hi c l e C ra s h

Vehicle Pedestrian Survival Pedestrian Survival

Speed Rate, Study 1 Rate, Study 2
20 mph 95% 95%

30 mph 55% 63%

40 mph 15% 17%

Study 1: Limpert, Rudolph. Motor Vehicle Accident Reconstruction and Cause Analysis. Fourth Edition.
Charlottesville, VA. The Michie Company, 1994, p. 663.

Study 2: Vehicle Speeds and the Incidence of Fatal Pedestrian Collisions, Australian Federal Office of
Road Safety, Report CR 146, October 1994, by McLean AJ,Anderson RW, Farmer MJB, Lee
BH, Brooks CG.
Pe d e stri ans

Benefits
• Roundabouts create low speed intersection environment
• Easy for pedestrians to determine gaps
• Pedestrians assess gaps in traffic approaching from only one direction
at a time
• Shorter crossing distance due to fewer lanes at approach
• Splitter Island provides refuge
• Ability to enhance crosswalk control yield compliance with pedestrian
actuated beacons
 Pe d e stri ans

• Crosswalks should be located 1-2 car

lengths behind yield line of a roundabout
• Offset crosswalks can be used to help
provide better visibility of exiting vehicles
• Many roundabouts exist in high pedestrian
volume areas
E X AMPL E OF OF FS ET C ROS SWAL K
 Pe d e stri ans

Spring Break
• 50,000 vehicles per
day as well as 5,000
pedestrians per day
• Only one pedestrian
crash has occurred
since opening
roundabout in 1999

C L E A R WAT E R , F L O R I D A
Pe d e stri ans

C L E A R W AT E R , F L O R I D A – S o u t h e a s t L e g o f R o u n d a b o u t
 Pe d e stri ans

Photo provided by Lauth Property Group

• Dense lifestyle shopping

center
• High volume of pedestrians
crossing from east to west
• No pedestrian/vehicle
crashes since opening in
2003

C L AY T E R RAC E , C A RM E L , I N D I A NA
Pe d e stri ans

C L AY T E R RAC E , C A RM E L , I N D I A NA
A DA Di s cus s i on

• Access Board of Americans With

Disabilities Act (ADA) has concerns for
sight-impaired pedestrians at roundabouts
• What is the concern?
• Safety – not primarily
• Accessibility – yes

• Access Board PROWAG recommendations

• Single lane roundabout: ADA ramps
• Multi-lane roundabout: ADA ramps &
pedestrian signals
SIGNAGE, STRIPING, & LIGHTING
 Po s s i bl e Mu l ti - Lane
Pe d e stri an C ros swal k Treatments

PEDESTRIAN HYBRID BEACON (PHB) R A I S E D C R O S S WA L K

R E C TA N G U L A R R A P I D I N - PA V E M E N T F L A S H E R S
FLASHING BEACON (RRFB)
F i s hers E xampl e s of
Pe d e stri an C ros swal k Treatments

Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon at Roundabout

C a r mel E xampl es of
Pe d e stri an C ros swal k Treatments

MID-BLOCK WITH NO LIGHTING

C a r mel E xampl es of
Pe d e stri an C ros swal k Treatments

RAISED MID-BLOCK CROSSING

C a r mel E xampl es of
Pe d e stri an C ros swal k Treatments

M I D - B L O C K C R O S S I N G W I T H P E D A C T U AT E D F L A S H E R
C a r mel E xampl es of
Pe d e stri an C ros swal k Treatments

R R F B AT R O U N D A B O U T
C a r mel E xampl es of
Pe d e stri an C ros swal k Treatments

RRFB on Roundabout Corridor

Pe d e stri ans

C L E A R W AT E R , F L O R I D A – N o r t h e a s t L e g o f R o u n d a b o u t B e f o r e R R F B s
Pe d e stri ans

C L E A R W AT E R , F L O R I D A – N o r t h e a s t L e g o f R o u n d a b o u t
 Survey Question #3

When designing a multi -lane roundabout is your

community or design firm including /recommending
N o C r o s s w a l k P e d B e a c o n , R R F B ’s , P e d e s t r i a n
Hybrid Beacon, or other yield compliance
enhancement?
 B i c yc l i sts

• Bike lanes can be

interfaced with
roundabouts
• Bike lane must end
before entering
roundabout
B i c yc l i sts
B i c yc l i sts

Example of Roundabout with Separated Bike Lanes from Bike East Bay
B i c yc l i sts – Du tch Rou ndabout Wi t hout
C yc l i st Pr i ori ty
B i c yc l i sts – Du tch rou n dabout wi t h c yc l i st
p r i o r i ty
B i c yc l i sts & Transi t - A msterdam
B i c yc l i sts - A msterdam
B i c yc l i sts - A msterdam
 Survey Question #4

Do you feel that the Copenhagen model giving

c y c l i s t p r i o r i t y i n a p r o t e c t e d b i ke l a n e a t a
roundabout would generate consistent motorist
yield compliance at a Roundabout in your
c o m m u n i t y ? Ye s o r N o
LESSONS LEARNED & MESSAGING
C a r mel – Mon on Trai l C ros s i ng at Ma i n S t
 F l as hbac ks
Police say the boy was riding
his bicycle in a crosswalk
around 11:30 AM when he
was hit by an SUV
Witnesses and people who
live in the neighborhood
say they believe
landscaping could be part
of the problem
Coroner releases name of 10-year-old killed
The boy’s mother
was near the
intersection at the
time of the crash.
They say she was
screaming for help
and pleading with
people
“ACHD Project
Manager Andrew
Cibor conceded that
“the jury is still
out” with respect to
bike safety at
roundabouts.”
In the UK, cyclists were 10 to 15 times
more likely than car drivers to be
involved in an accident on a A study of 90 roundabouts in Flanders
roundabout; although, as
roundabout showed a significant increase in the
roundabouts were generally safer number of severe injury crashes with
than other kinds of intersections, bicyclists after construction of a
even cyclists saw some roundabout.
improvement.
A landmark ADA settlement was
Bicycle accidents INCREASE with
reached in a federal lawsuit in
roundabouts. In NY state, one
Michigan in 2007. The lawsuit claimed
intersection went from 7.8 crashes a
that roundabouts prevented disabled
year to 45.7 crashes a year after the
citizens from safely crossing.
roundabout opened. Another
intersection jumped from 9.6
accidents per year to 38.3.
T h e Ve rdi c t

• “Recent research of roundabouts in the United

States has not found any substantial problems for
bicyclists, as indicated by few crashes being
reported in detailed crash reports.” (Source: NCHRP 672)
• No pedestrian fatalities roundabouts in the U.S.
(Source: FHWA TOPR 34: Accelerating Roundabout Implementation in the United States)
 Survey Question #5

What roundabout education materials are

published by the community you live/work in for
educating the public on the proper use and
benefits of roundabouts; None, Project Specific
O u t r e a c h O n l y, H a r d C o p y B r o c h u r e s , V i d e o s / I n f o
o n We b S i t e ? I n d i c a t e a l l t h a t a p p l y.
 L e s s ons L e arne d

• Sight distance
• Illumination
• Educate
• Bend when appropriate
• Design trumps
• Roundabouts aren’t perfect
Questions

Thank you!

Michael McBride, PE Andrew Cibor, PE, PTOE

American Structurepoint City of Bloomington
317.547.5580 812.349.3423
mmcbride@structurepoint.com cibora@bloomington.in.gov