PennDot's Latest Brainstorm.. "Roundabouts"

Before you watch this video I want you to notice three things. (1) All of their examples are located in wide open suburban settings. (2) They aren't taking into account the problems these present at rush hour.(3) Third and most importantly all of these depend on drivers YIELDING. Yeah like that's going to go well from my experience.

I just had a driver yesterday blow through a stop sign at the 'Village West' exit onto Tilghman Street right in front of me. Obviously he felt I should either break or get out of his way. He gunned his engine. Cut in front of me proceeding to give me the finger. (Maybe he thought he was entering route 22 eh?)

Gotta Sell Ya On The Idea


WFMZ-TV posted a list where PennDot has a mind to install things. Among the various locations listed are Tilghman Street at Parkway Road, 40th Street, and Springhouse Road and Cedar Crest Boulevard at Broadway, Chew, and Tilghman Streets

THEY GOT TO BE KIDDING!Anyone who travels these routes at rush hour knows it's major bumper to bumper. Better hope there's a lot of patient drivers willing to yield. Otherwise drivers may experience something like this unfortunate fella...



Sure that might be a little exaggerated but a guy I worked with once terrified his wife when he went to visit his mother in Massachusetts. After three laps around one of Boston's circles being unable to get off he had enough. Horns honking, fingers flying and tires screeching he finally found himself free.

OK so some of these roundabouts may be a good idea, but certainly not for areas like Cedar Crest and others that back up at rush hours. If Pennsylvania wants to go off on the next great thing let them do it far from areas where there's heavy urban rush hour traffic.

Paris


Check out this story & video posted on July 25, 2015 by 'The Boston Globe': A way out of the city’s rotary from hell?-- "... drivers, intent on dodging one another as they wind through one of Boston’s more perplexing and congested traffic configurations, blow through all the yield signs, including the ones that tell them to give way to pedestrians in crosswalks...

It’s 8:40 a.m. on Kosciuszko Circle. And that’s the third collision in less than two hours."

I can honestly see how it would be safer from life threatening t-bone accidents, but on the other hand create more then a few fender dings then there are now. So too road rage incidents with drivers refusing to yield because of their self importance thinking no one else wants to get where they're going too.

BUT HERE"S THE #1 REASON BEHIND IT ALL
Follow the money trail
No more would the state be paying for traffic control lights.
W/o them you're on your own.
Lotsa Luck. You'll need it!