Education
Many cities in the U.S. are installing roundabouts instead of traditional signalized intersections, largely due to evidence that roundabouts dramatically reduce fatal and severe injury crashes. However, the impact of roundabouts on pedestrian safety is not clear. In this seminar, John Hourdos will discuss a research project aimed at investigating pedestrian accessibility in Minnesota’s urban roundabouts and addressing complaints from pedestrians regarding intersection crossing and safety issues. The project involved the observation and analysis of interactions between pedestrians or bicycles and vehicles at two modern urban roundabouts in the Twin Cities area. The researchers examined factors such as who yielded, the location of the crossing, the number of subjects involved, and the conditions inside the roundabout before the interaction occurred. Hourdos will also discuss the study’s results, which highlight and categorize the existence of friction between pedestrians and drivers at roundabout crossings.