Ann Arbor's traffic roundabouts improve safety, data shows

With Washtenaw County road officials planning more roundabouts in the coming years, new data concludes traffic circles recently built in Ann Arbor have reduced the number and severity of accidents.

Statistics compiled by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments show that in 2008 - the first full year after the roundabouts at Maple Road and M-14 near Skyline High School were completed - accidents there dropped nearly 40 percent, from 13 in 2007 to 8 last year. The accidents also have been less harmful, according to the SEMCOG data.

That evidence matches what road and law enforcement officials have been saying about roundabouts - not only do they reduce the number of accidents, but the crashes that occur are less severe because speeds at roundabouts are slower than regular intersections.

“They’re extremely safe,” said Steve Puuri, managing director of the Washtenaw County Road Commission. “Any accidents are low-speed.”

Puuri said some common mistakes drivers make when negotiating a roundabout are going too fast for the curves, and hesitating upon entry.Â

According to a guide to driving roundabouts on the commission’s Web site, the keys are to slow down, look to the left for oncoming traffic, and yield to vehicles already in the roundabout. Traffic in a roundabout always goes counterclockwise, so drivers should never turn left into one, the guide says. Also, the only reason to stop in a roundabout is to avoid an accident.

Even in more complicated configurations, once motorists get used to them, accident counts don’t increase where roundabouts are built. In Green Oak Township near Brighton, a string of three roundabouts built by a mall developer caused some uproar among drivers - but SEMCOG statistics show accident rates in 2007 and 2008 were not any higher than before the roundabouts were built in 2006.

Green Oak Police Chief Bob Brookins said the roundabouts are working well.

“The severity of crashes is significantly reduced,” he said. “We’ve had two or three minor injuries - everybody’s at a lower speed.”

A new roundabout was recently completed at Huron Parkway and Nixon Road on Ann Arbor's north side. And Puuri said more are planned, including two at the interchange of Geddes and US-23, one at Geddes and Earhart near Concordia University, and one at Whittaker and Stony Creek in Ypsilanti Township.

Puuri said roundabouts cost more to build than traditional intersections, but save money in the long term by avoiding traffic signal maintenance costs. The roundabout at Whittaker and Stony Creek is budgeted for $1.37 million in the Road Commission’s current capital improvement plan.

“You’re probably spending a little more up front, but in the very short term you’re getting it back,” Puuri said.

And after some initial concern over the roundabouts near Skyline, Brian Mielewski, head of the parent-teacher-student organization there, said he hasn’t heard any dissatisfaction about them.

“I haven’t fielded any complaints from parents,” he said.

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Photos by Lon Horwedel, AnnArbor.com: The new roundabout on Nixon Road on Ann Arbor's north side recently opened.

Freelance reporter Dan Meisler can be reached at danmeisler@gmail.com.