When asked to solve a wicked problem in Florida, a traffic fatality every 18 months near an intersection in Bradenton Beach, Florida, I surprised state safety officials by suggesting a then largely unknown intersection tool, a modern roundabout.

No one blinked, and the roundabout was funded, designed and in service within a year. The year was 1994. Since that date, despite 15-25% more traffic volume than SR 104 at Paradise Bay, the Bradenton Beach roundabout has yet to produce a single crash in 25 years. It was Florida’s first modern roundabout. This success made me an advocate, urging communities to adopt a “roundabouts first” policy.

By 1997 I was working in University Place, Washington (near Tacoma) and inspired that city to install the first roundabout in Washington.

We took a four-way stop intersection near three schools where traffic backups extended a mile during school release, inserted a roundabout and not only eliminated the traffic backup, we created ideal walking conditions, and reduced six injury crashes each year to none.

Washington officials were already looking at this new way to reduce injuries and save lives, and this University Place success set the stage for hundreds more.

Washington now has 400 roundabouts on the ground, and a prediction of 500 by 2020. Roundabouts are a big part of the state’s commitment to carry out their Strategic Highway Safety Plan, called Target Zero – an attempt to prevent even a single loss of life through better engineering, enforcement and programs.

Why is this so important? The U.S leads all other developed nations in traffic trauma.

The Federal Highway Administration is keeping count: there are about 2.5 million intersection crashes in the nation each year, accounting for 20% of all fatal crashes. The majority of these crashes involve left-hand turns, something older drivers find challenging. With red light runners, foggy conditions and other factors, signalized intersections are not the safest tool.

Your readers make it clear, this intersection is long overdue for attention.  So why is there controversy over the safest intersection tool, the modern roundabout?

Roundabouts move more traffic per lane, reduce the most serious crashes 70-90%, are cheaper and produce less environmental damage than building the thousands of added linear feet of roadway needed for signalized intersections, which would introduce more water pollutants into the Hood Canal Bridge area ecosystem, and it would slow traffic to safer, more appropriate levels for entering and exiting the bridge. 

Roundabouts are still a new idea in our country, so some of your readers have legitimate questions. Speaking for engineers, they only want to solve problems, never create new ones – it is against their nature. To learn more, I spoke with Brian Walsh, the lead WSDOT transportation official on this proposal. Brian informed me; this location is third highest on the state’s list for roundabouts. The state has vetted the potential design, and it is the preferred tool. A signalized intersection is not an option for this location at this time.

I asked Brian, “out of the 400 roundabouts the state has installed, 15 in similar areas, how many have failed?” His answer, “none …they all are working, and working well.”

Despite its advantages, there are many reasons to doubt if a roundabout is the best tool in the box.

What about the infrequent closing of the Hood Canal Bridge? Traffic can back up for miles in all three directions.

I have been there, and I have been late for appointments.

How well does a roundabout work with sudden traffic surges? In Brighton, Michigan, the community was about to install traffic signals in an historic neighborhood, taking out precious lawns for a quarter of a mile. Upon my return trip to Brighton, meeting with the town manager, he pointed out that they were about to install new traffic signals, which were waiting for installation in their warehouse. I reminded him that on a previous visit we considered a roundabout.

He shared that their consultant traffic engineer said that the backup of traffic suddenly released after long freight trains at a crossing a quarter mile away would cause the roundabout to fail.  I had built trust in the community, and so I said, “it will work, build it.”

The city sent back the signals, built the roundabout, and despite having 10-20% more traffic than Route 104, the roundabout eats up each surge and spits it out on the other side. Residents are delighted.

As a frequent driver of this bridge crossing, and having been stuck in peak traffic, I have often considered the value and benefit of a roundabout solution.

I urge my fellow Jefferson County residents to give a roundabout at Paradise and Shine Road a chance.

The global report from the World Health Organization — which reviewed laws and crashes in 175 nations — explains that U.S.’s traffic fatality rate is 12.4 deaths per 100,000 — or about 50 percent higher than similar nations in Western Europe, plus Canada, Australia and Japan.