Roundabouts: Don’t go in if you can’t get out
January 13th, 2012 by Steven Gardner
To suggest a little
roundabout etiquette I ask that you look at this picture. I
doctored it to remove the license plate numbers, so no one feels
like I’m shaming them. I’m approaching the Manette Bridge on Lower
Wheaton Way.
Travis Baker, our resident road warrior may correct me if I am wrong, but I see a problem with this picture.
The stoppage at this roundabout, located at the east end of the bridge, is because of ongoing construction work on the span. Because of the construction, no one going onto the bridge will be able to continue that way. I suggest that drivers should have stopped before entering the roundabout, because if someone coming from the left (Harkins Street from Pitt Avenue) on this photo wanted to pull a U-turn by completely circling the roundabout, they would be unable. This might be tough, because people generally don’t learn about the stoppage until they’ve already entered the roundabout. I can’t fault them. However, in this picture it’s getting close to a point where a car would be unable to turn right from Harkins onto Lower Wheaton Way opposite the direction I’m going.
This could be a bigger problem once traffic starts exiting the bridge. If enough cars opposite the bridge enter the roundabout and wait, they could block the path of those wanting to turn onto Lower Wheaton Way.
Anyone want to dispute my contention? Drivers on Lower Wheaton are not inconvenienced at all in this picture, because if the first car does as I suggest no one is moving forward anyway. The potential problem here is for those entering the roundabout from Harkins or the bridge.
Tags: Manette Bridge, Roundabout, Traffic
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
January 15th, 2012 at 4:23 pm
Huh?
January 15th, 2012 at 5:51 pm
Squish, click on the picture if you need more explanation. The bottom line is this roundabout is getting very close to becoming impassable. One or two more cars in the roundabout waiting in line to cross the bridge can tie it up indefinitely.
Steven Gardner
Kitsap Caucus