I-35 / US 30 Flyover Progress

[Cyched]

It's settled. The 35/30 interchange should have been a giant roundabout.

 

[cyclonedave25]

Well I guess this is as good of time as ever to post this video:

 

[CyVoodoo]

This is true (and I rarely signal tbh), but in the smaller ones it's not always clear which exit you are taking when you signal, the time between one exit and the next isn't much.

I'm a fan of round a bouts (especially if everyone eventually figures them out), but I know one or two that the small size makes them more challenging.

I mostly agree and like the small roundabouts, way more efficient than stop lights. We had a couple new ones and a couple people started treating them like stop signs. They were expecting people to alternate and stop in the middle. One even Honked at me as I wouldn't stop in the middle.

 

[jmb]

I never underestimate the timidity and lack of discernment by Iowa drivers.

P.S. I'm from Chicago, so that may be a factor in my perspective.

Actually the city?

 

[urb1]

This contractor should never get an Iowa DOT contract again, what a complete fail on their part.

From what I heard, it was the surveying subcontractor that was to blame.

 

[chuckd4735]

Roundabouts when used appropriately are good. In the US they often aren’t. Certain cities put them in where 95% of the traffic goes one direction. They aren’t a replacement to two way stops and they need to be designed so you don’t basically have to stop to enter them.

We seem to keep using roundabouts for aesthetic reasons rather then using them where they are actually effective. I cannot stand roundabouts in the middle of residential neighborhoods where there is very little traffic. Roundabouts that replace stoplights and stop signs at busy intersections are awesome! Ill take a roundabout over a stop light every day of the week.

 

[Doc]

We seem to keep using roundabouts for aesthetic reasons rather then using them where they are actually effective. I cannot stand roundabouts in the middle of residential neighborhoods where there is very little traffic. Roundabouts that replace stoplights and stop signs at busy intersections are awesome! Ill take a roundabout over a stop light every day of the week.

I think roundabouts in those areas are used to try to get people to slow down to a speed more proper for a residential neighborhood. They are supposed to reduce accidents in those neighborhoods as well.

 

[Cycsk]

From what I heard, it was the surveying subcontractor that was to blame.

Drove CTA buses in the 1980's.

 

[NWICY]

I mean, while the delay sucks, we're getting this bridge at a discount now due to the $5k\day penalties on the contract, so it works out either way for the DOT

alarson the optimistic is for finding the bright side of this flyover fiasco.

 

[NorthCyd]

Honk at them if they and make them feel bad for not understanding how to drive.

They aren't going to feel bad about anything. They'll just think you're a ****.

 

[ISUCubswin]

I mean, while the delay sucks, we're getting this bridge at a discount now due to the $5k\day penalties on the contract, so it works out either way for the DOT

It’s absolutely a great deal for the state. I drive it every morning around 7:30 and night at 4:00. Other than being an eye sore, I don’t think it’s ever caused delay.

So it seems like a complete win for the state, other than the poor public perception that there were 2-3 pretty embarrassing failures on that companies end forcing delays.

 

[chuckd4735]

I think roundabouts in those areas are used to try to get people to slow down to a speed more proper for a residential neighborhood. They are supposed to reduce accidents in those neighborhoods as well.

I don't think a roundabout is more effective in doing either of those then a stop sign is (again we're talking low traffic areas here), but I'm no expert on the matter.

 

[cycloner29]

From what I heard, it was the surveying subcontractor that was to blame.

"Measure twice, cut (pour) once." Words to live by.

 

[mj4cy]

I don't think a roundabout is more effective in doing either of those then a stop sign is (again we're talking low traffic areas here), but I'm no expert on the matter.

I think in those cases, roundabouts are more cost effective. You don't have to spend electricity on the lights ect. Of course this is what I was taught in my traffic engineering class over a decade ago so I'm not an expert on it either.

 

[CY88CE11]

I don't think a roundabout is more effective in doing either of those then a stop sign is (again we're talking low traffic areas here), but I'm no expert on the matter.

A stop sign isn't placed to control speed though. It's used to give right of way to a specific leg or legs of an intersection. Same with a yield sign. Mini roundabouts in neighborhoods do help control speed, as it's hard to navigate them at 40 mph. Traffic signs can be ignored but make it easier to assign blame in the case of an accident, which is the source of their deterring power (along with tickets, obviously).

 

[Urbandale2013]

A stop sign isn't placed to control speed though. It's used to give right of way to a specific leg or legs of an intersection. Same with a yield sign. Mini roundabouts in neighborhoods do help control speed, as it's hard to navigate them at 40 mph. Traffic signs can be ignored but make it easier to assign blame in the case of an accident, which is the source of their deterring power (along with tickets, obviously).

At least around here they are difficult to navigate at 15 mph. That’s one of the problems with them. If I have to slow down that much I’d rather just have a stop sign.

 

[CyArob]

At least around here they are difficult to navigate at 15 mph. That’s one of the problems with them. If I have to slow down that much I’d rather just have a stop sign.

Sounds like they're working, then!

 

[NWICY]

A stop sign isn't placed to control speed though. It's used to give right of way to a specific leg or legs of an intersection. Same with a yield sign. Mini roundabouts in neighborhoods do help control speed, as it's hard to navigate them at 40 mph. Traffic signs can be ignored but make it easier to assign blame in the case of an accident, which is the source of their deterring power (along with tickets, obviously).

Trust me in plenty of small towns a stop sign is used to control speed. you can argue whether or not they should be but they are. Keeps the little kids in the towns safer because drivers exiting town can't get going as fast. Lots of people might make a rolling stop but most don't just blow through them.

 

[Urbandale2013]

Sounds like they're working, then!

They shouldn’t be slowing people down that much. It shouldn’t be cutting speed in half because that is what they do. They put them on 35 mph roads and spam them in places that rarely have traffic that isn’t going straight on the main road.

 

[chuckd4735]

I think in those cases, roundabouts are more cost effective. You don't have to spend electricity on the lights ect. Of course this is what I was taught in my traffic engineering class over a decade ago so I'm not an expert on it either.

Im 100% OK with them replacing traffic lights. My heartburn is when they are placed in the middle of a residential neighborhood where you have traffic under 300 ADT, mainly people that drive through live in the neighborhood, and there would normally just be a stop sign.