Stafford Stands Out In Connecticut With 2 Roundabouts

STAFFORD, CT — Of the 16 roundabouts currently operational in Connecticut, Stafford has two of them.

State Department of Transportation officials were touting the totals Tuesday in observance of National Roundabouts Week, which runs from Sept. 18 to Sept. 22.

The local locations are:

• In front of Stafford Town Hall at the intersection of routes 32 and 190
• At the junction of routes 319 and 190

The downtown roundabout features the historic fountain.

Norwich will join the fray with three after two projects are complete, DOT officials said. In all, 14 new roundabout projects are ongoing, DOT officials said.

"Roundabouts improve safety, reduce congestion, and even reduce emissions," DOT officials said Tuesday.

DOT officials went on the say, "After converting an intersection to a roundabout, data shows an 80 percent reduction in severe crashes and a 50 percent reduction in overall crashes."

Here is a roundabout chart provided by the DOT:

According to federal transportation officials, "roundabouts are designed with slow vehicle speeds in mind and their central island and traffic separator islands make drivers react to them and force them to slow down. Rotaries are large circular intersections with wide sweeping lanes that allow vehicles to drive at much higher speeds."