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Bangor Metro >  August 2006 >  In Praise of Roundabouts

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The city of Bangor recently an-nounced that it is constructing a roundabout at Texas and Maine Avenues near Bangor International Airport (BGR). That should prove a big step forward. During recent decades crosstown driving has gone from easygoing to stop-and-go, mostly due to the ever multiplying lights and stop signs that have accompanied the steep growth in car ownership. Impatient drivers plowing through red lights have made traditional intersections more dangerous than ever.

Roundabouts, when properly designed, are smaller versions of traffic circles and have proven to be very useful in smoothing traffic flows. They are most effective when used in series, eliminating multiple sets of lights. They also work well in less busy locations where lights or signs were previously placed for safety reasons only. The efficiency of roundabouts is perhaps most clearly demonstrated in the UK, where driving in and around most cities would now be unthinkable without them.

Smaller UK towns have downsized roundabouts to the point where they are little more than elevated humps in the middle of what used to be three- or four-way intersections. With minimal reshaping, a circular roadway can be created so that drivers simply yield to traffic (if any) within the circle, rather than making full
or needlessly lengthy stops. Apart from time savings and reduced driver frustration, other benefits include fuel and pollution savings. As drivers are slowed down, increased safety is another bonus. Collisions at roundabouts tend to be significantly less severe than at straight intersections.

 Multiple new roundabouts would represent a big change in local traffic patterns. Some drivers will fear their free-flowing traffic, and many will cringe at the thought of old-style traffic circles. The latter date from a different era and were often poorly conceived. Bangor’s first roundabout will be of modern design and should serve as a practical local experiment. Once its benefits have been demonstrated, numerous intersections in the city could similarly be made safer and more efficient.

It’s fairly safe to predict that roundabouts will become commonplace in Maine in the coming years and that trend could well be accelerated by ever-increasing fuel costs. If so, roundabouts will likely prove to be just a small sign of things to come as the near future will bring far more significant local changes, many of which will be driven by unrelenting pressure for economic efficiency. While Bangor has much to protect in terms of its natural and cultural heritage, the more it can lead Maine by its openness to new ideas the better it will protect its future in the global marketplace.