Roundabout Information
Roundabout Information
Why so many roundabouts?
In 2000, Alaska did not have a single roundabout. Now the state has more than 40 roundabouts with more on the way. You may be wondering, why so many roundabouts? The trend in Alaska mirrors the trend across the United States for a simple reason: they are much safer than a traditional signalized or four-way-stop intersection.
What makes them safer?
Fewer conflicts: In a traditional four-way intersection, there are 32 possible collision points. Vehicles turning right on red, turning left across on-coming traffic, speeding up to “beat the light,” failing to stop at the red light or stop sign—we are all familiar with the possibilities. At a single lane roundabout there are only eight possible collision points: entering the roundabout and exiting the roundabout.
Fewer serious injury crashes: Crashes at roundabouts are not only less likely, the crashes that do happen aren’t as serious, because speeds through roundabouts are slower, and head-on and right-angle or t-bone crashes are virtually eliminated.
Safer for pedestrians: In a roundabout, pedestrians only need to cross one direction of traffic at a time and vehicles are moving at a slower speed, which gives both pedestrians and drivers more time to react.
More data and videos at the Alaska roundabout website: http://dot.alaska.gov/stwddes/dcstraffic/roundabouts.shtml
How much safer are roundabouts?
According to national studies, intersections that were converted from a traditional, signalized intersection to a roundabout experienced:
We have seen similar results at roundabouts in Alaska. In the ten years since roundabouts were installed at an intersection in North Pole, there have been zero injury crashes and a 68% reduction in crashes overall.
Piper and 40th
C Street and Klatt
Alaska’s roundabouts
As of February 2020, Alaska has 42 roundabouts, with several more planned in the coming years. Click on the map below to find more information on roundabouts in your community and throughout the state.