New signage, markings planned for sometimes confusing city roundabouts
We’re told that the roundabout is the most efficient traffic conveyor at intersections because traffic never has to come to a stop, even when making a left turn.
Sure, roundabouts take up a little more space than the average intersection, but they’re cheaper because there are no traffic signals to install and maintain and some are really attractive with some interesting centerpieces in the center of the circle (there’s a really cool one with a tall rock in Ivins, Utah).
And if we lived in France, which has upwards of 30,000 of them at last count, we would all be pros at navigating them.
But therein lies the problem. Except for those who work at the Paris Las Vegas on the Strip, few among us ever set foot anyplace resembling France.
The state is using roundabouts more and more. Check out the Interstate 15 freeway exits in Mesquite sometime.
But we do have a few of them in Las Vegas, and Warrior reader Pam is fearful that multilane roundabouts and fading signage are making at least one roundabout in Summerlin a little dangerous:
“I have to navigate the roundabout at Town Center Drive and Hualapai Way three times a week in order to go to the Summerlin Medical Center. The street markings in the roundabout are faded and the signs are minuscule and seem to apply to a two-lane roundabout, not a three-lane roundabout,” she said.
“This past week, I was almost hit by a car turning west on Town Center as I was traveling from westbound Town Center to southbound Hualapai. I have experienced roundabouts in Michigan where street markings were clear and color-coded, signs are large and there is overhead signage. All of which, left little question as to how to maneuver the roundabout and get to where you were going. Why aren’t Summerlin roundabouts similarly marked? Why aren’t the existing directions, as few as there are, larger and being maintained? What are the rules where there are double lanes in the roundabout?”
There’s some help on the way, according to city of Las Vegas Transportation Manager Mike Janssen.
“The Town Center Corridor between Charleston and Summerlin Parkway is targeted for a street rehabilitation project next year,” Janssen said. “This project will be managed by the City of Las Vegas Department of Operations and Maintenance and is slated to begin the second quarter of 2016. The work will include new signs and markings to address the concerns noted by the resident.
“When this Town Center-Hualapai Way roundabout was built in 1991, the Federal Highway Administration recommended that roundabouts have very little signage and markings so that motorists would drive them slowly and be more cautious. But, a few years back, the FHA came out with a new ‘Roundabout Design Guide’ that now suggests using more signs and markings. So, we will be adding a variety of new signs and markings with the upcoming rehab project. In the interim, we will have staff refresh the lane assignment markings in the roundabout — these are the ‘thru-only’ and thru-left’ arrows that exist in the roundabout and that are supplemented by regulatory signs. Motorists who fail to follow these lane assignments can be cited if they get into an accident.”
Roundabouts are quite different forms of intersection control, compared with intersections controlled by signals, Janssen said, as roundabouts require drivers to use much more judgment when entering, circulating and exiting.
“Some people love them, and others hate them,” he said. “But the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department will tell you that there is rarely a serious injury in a roundabout crash because speeds are much lower. They often are just minor fender benders, whereas at intersections controlled by traffic signals, a crash usually results in serious injury or death if someone runs a red light,” he said.
Free rides for vets
Active military service members and veterans can ride any Regional Transportation Commission bus all day Wednesday, Veterans Day.
Vets also can get a discount every other day with 50-percent-off rates of $1 for a single ride, $1.50 for a two-hour pass, $2.50 for a 24-hour pass, $17 for a 15-day pass and $32.50 for a 30-day pass.
Beware of burros
Even if you’re driving a Mustang or a Bronco, you don’t want to introduce your vehicle to a wild horse or burro on local highways.
So says the Bureau of Land Management, which is discouraging people from feeding the animals, which associate vehicles with food and hang out near or on roads.
Two burros have been struck and killed by cars in the past month, and BLM officials posted a warning to beware of horses and burros on state Routes 159 and 160 and Kyle Canyon, Lee Canyon and Cold Creek roads.
People who feed, pet or harass horses and burros can be cited. And, if you do have an accident involving a horse or burro, call 911 to report it.
Questions and comments should be sent to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com. Please include your phone number. Follow the Road Warrior on Twitter @RJroadwarrior
Road Work Ahead■ The two far right lanes of southbound Interstate 15 will be closed between Charleston Boulevard and F Street from 9 p.m. today►Monday◄to 5 a.m. Tuesday for guardrail repairs.
■ Eastbound and westbound Vegas Valley Drive will be routed to the south side of the street, and northbound and southbound Hollywood Boulevard will be moved to the west side of the street for sewer line construction through Tuesday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
■ Eastbound Macbrey Drive at Manalang Road and Manalang north of Collete Circle will be closed for sewer line construction work through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residential access will be maintained, and flaggers will assist motorists.
■ A two-phase construction project on a sewer line will close and restrict portions of East Harmon Avenue, Carmine Street and Jimmy Durante Boulevard. The north side of Harmon from Carmine to Jimmy Durante will be restricted. Carmine from Harmon to Zone Street will be closed with traffic detoured to Crater Avenue. Jimmy Durante from Harmon to Slow Bluff Drive will be restricted with a closure along the center of the road. Flaggers may be in place during work scheduled through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
■ Valley View Boulevard will be closed through Nov. 23 between Wigwam and Serene avenues for a sewer line project. Detour routes will be marked with signs.
■ Wigwam Avenue, east of Las Vegas Boulevard to Giles Street, will be closed through Nov. 23 for a sewer line project. As work progresses, there will be restrictions on westbound Wigwam to Las Vegas Boulevard. Construction is planned Mondays through Fridays, 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
■ Traffic will be restricted at Koval Lane and Tropicana Avenue for intermittent sewer work through Nov. 20. The inside northbound lane of Koval to 300 feet north of the intersection, and one of the two left-turn lanes from southbound Koval to eastbound Tropicana will be restricted with work planned Mondays through Fridays from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
■ Fifth Street in North Las Vegas is closed between Cheyenne Avenue and Losee Road through February for the construction of an overpass route that will connect Fifth to East Carey Avenue.
■ Craig Road will be restricted to two lanes in each direction at Simmons Street for a water drainage project that will be completed in February.
■ Restrictions will be in place through February on Lamb Boulevard between Wyoming Avenue and Vegas Valley Drive on a water pipeline rehabilitation project. Lamb will be reduced to one lane in each direction, and left turns will be prohibited. Two lanes will be open in each direction during daylight hours. Work is scheduled Sundays through Thursdays, 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
■ RTC bus Transit Route 106, the Maryland Parkway route, will be detoured because of road construction through April. Stops on George Crockett Road will not be served. Alternative stops are available on Routes 117 (Las Vegas Boulevard South and Silverado Ranch Road) and 217 (Warm Springs Road and downtown Henderson).
■ The ramp connecting Sunset Road to the southbound Airport Connector is closed through fall 2016. Traffic lanes and shoulders will be restricted on the Airport Connector between the 215 Beltway, and the airport tunnel through mid-2016 for the construction of a flyover lane from the southbound connector to eastbound Beltway.
Gasoline prices
The average gasoline price Friday in the Las Vegas Valley was $2.78 per gallon. It was $2.71 in Nevada. The national average of $2.22 is up 4 cents from a week ago, down 7 cents from a month ago and down 72 cents from a year ago.
Las Vegas Review-Journal
