PennDOT: Traffic Roundabouts Save Lives, Minimize Accident Injuries

PENNSYLVANIA — Installing roundabouts at 36 locations statewide to replace stop signs or traffic lights reduced deaths, injuries and crashes, PennDOT has announced.

Based on at least three years of crash data before and after the roundabouts were built, PennDOT revealed:

• Suspected serious injuries were reduced by 76 percent.

• Suspected minor injuries were reduced by 22 percent.

• Possible or unknown severity of injuries was reduced by 70 percent.

• The total number of crashes decreased by 9 percent.

A roundabout is a type of circular intersection that does not require vehicles to stop before entering the intersection. The roadway curvature encourages reduced vehicle speeds and
entering traffic must yield to circulating traffic.

The essential characteristics of all roundabouts include:

• Traffic travels counterclockwise around a center island.
• Vehicles entering the roundabout yield to traffic already circulating.
• Lower vehicle speeds, generally 15-25 miles per hour.

The roundabouts used for the study included the following locations:

• Allegheny County: Route 3070 (Ewing Road) and Business Route 376 Ramp, opened in 2011.

• Beaver County: Route 68 (Adams Street), Route 1034 (Brighton Avenue), and Route 6018 (Brighton Ave./Rhode Island Ave.), opened in 2011.

• Berks County: Route 222 and Route 662, opened in 2018.

• Bucks County: Route 2043 (Trevose Road) and Somerton Road, opened in 2012; and Route 213 (Bridgetown Pike/Maple Avenue) and Route 2010 (Bridgetown Pike), opened in 2016.

• Butler County: Route 3024 (Glen Eden Road), Powell Road, and Freshcorn Road, opened in 2015; and Route 228 and SR 2005 (Saxonburg Blvd.), opened in 2018.

• Chester County: Route 82 (Doe Run Road) and Unionville Road, opened in 2005; Route 52 (Lenape Road), S. Wawaset Road, and Lenape Unionville Road opened in 2014; and Route 3062 (Strasburg Road), Romansville Road, and Shadyside Road Opened in 2017.

• Crawford County: Route 6/19 (Main Street) and Route 198 (South Street), opened in 2017; and Route 6/19 (Main Street) and Route 198 (Brookhouse Street), opened in 2017.

• Cumberland County: Route 34 (Spring Road), Route 1007 (Sunnyside Drive) and Mountain Road, opened in 2014; and Route 2004 (W. Lisburn Road) and Grantham Road, opened in 2018.

• Dauphin County: Route 39 (Linglestown Road) and Route 3019 (Mountain Road), opened in 2011; Route 322 (Governor Road) and Homestead Lane, opened in 2016; and Route 322 (Governor Road) and Meadow Lane, opened in 2016.

• Delaware County: Route 1023 (N. Newtown Street) and Route 1046 (St. Davids Road), opened in 2008; and Route 320 (Chester Road), Rutgers Avenue and Fieldhouse Lane, opened in 2014.

• Erie County: Route 19 (High Street) and Route 97, opened in 2014; and Route 5 and Route 4016 (Millfair Road), opened in 2018.

• Luzerne County: I-81 Exit 178, Airport Road interchange (three roundabouts), opened in 2015;Route 2008 (Middle Road) and Espy Street, opened in 2017; Route 415, Church Street, Lake Street and Main Street, opened in 2018; and Route 2008 (Middle Road) and Kosciuszko Street, opened in 2018.

• Mercer County Route 718 (Dock Street) and Connelly Boulevard, opened in 2018.

• Monroe County I-80 Exit 310 and Route 2028 (Broad Street), opened in 2018.

• Montgomery County: Route 29 (Gravel Pike) and Route 73 (Big Road), opened in 2009.

• Philadelphia County: Route 4013 (Park Drive) and Route 4015 (Walnut Lane), opened in 2018.

• Washington County: Route 519 (two connected roundabouts) – Route 519 and Brownlee Road, and Route 519 and Thompson Eighty Four Road, opened in 2015; and I-70 Exit 32 and Route 2040 (Wilson Road), opened in 2018.

• York County: Route 116 (Main Street) and Hanover St. and Roths Church Road, opened in 2007; and

• Route 74 (Delta Road) and Bryansville Road, opened in 2008.