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Cars circle the roundabout at Jetton and Griffith streets Monday night. (Photo by David Boraks)

Davidson drivers can say goodbye to the constant rejiggering of lanes on Griffith Street: The second roundabout at the Exxon station is now complete.

Workers this week are putting finishing touches on the circle, as well as at another roundabout closer to I-77. The last-minute work includes painting the lane lines, turn arrows and crosswalks around the two circles. Both circles now have two lanes, separated by white dotted stripes, in place of the double yellow lines there before.

The end of the roadwork, or at least the major part of it, will be a relief for local drivers, who’ve been navigating ever-changing road alignments and orange barrels for months. Completion has been stalled repeatedly by bad weather and other construction delays.

Town officials say the roundabouts are the best long-term solution to maintaining smooth traffic flow in the Exit 30 area. They also are part of the town’s efforts to preserve a unique character as development transforms North Mecklenburg and South Iredell.

GOAL: IMPROVED TRAFFIC FLOW

The two new roundabouts on Griffith Street are designed to control traffic flow at I-77 Exit 30 and along Griffith Street, where a development boom is transforming the land and roads. Traffic is expected to increase as a new grocery, two hotels, several office buildings, a new school and new housing units are completed over the next couple of years. (An overview of the plans for the Exit 30/Griffith Street area can be found on the town website.)

But even with construction apparently done, the roundabouts are likely to continue perplexing some residents. In recent public meetings, town planning director Kris Krider has often fielded questions about the two roundabouts.

Residents have complained about the slow construction, say they are not working to control traffic or are just plain confusing.

Students at Davidson College even put up an “I Hate the Traffic Circle” discussion group on the social networking site Facebook.com.

Mr. Krider has kept a sense of humor about the delays. At one meeting recently, he responded to a question about the completion date by saying they would be finished “in a couple of weeks.” And one of these days I’ll actually be right, he joked.

WHY ROUNDABOUTS?

The roundabouts have become a favorite beef for many residents. But Mr. Krider said there’s a rationale - improving four-way traffic flow at the two intersections once the area is fully developed.

Repsonding to a question at the March 13 Town Board meeting, Mr. Krider said some current troubles, such as difficulties turning onto Griffith Street from side streets, are likely to go away as projects on the north and south sides of Griffith Street are completed over the next couple of years. Once the hotels, housing and offices are finished, increased traffic from all directions will force drivers on the roundabouts to slow down and move in two lanes, making it easier for those entering the circles.

He said over the long term, the roundabouts are a better choice to handle traffic than traffic lights.

In recent presentations, Mr. Krider has showed a slide illustrating the dramatic differences between traffic lights and circles. Traffic circles reduce the number of potential points of conflict in an intersection, helping to cut down the frequency and severity of accidents.

A four-way stop with a traffic light has 32 potential vehicle-to-vehicle conflict points, according to researchers. A circle has just eight. (See illustration above, or the town’s “How to Navigate Roundabouts” brochure on the town website.)

Traffic circles also present a smaller and less confusing road footprint than traffic lights, which require a tangle of left-turn, right-turn and through lanes.

Circles also are designed to be safer for pedestrians.

LINKS

How to Navigate Roundabouts brochure, on the town Website.

Filed under: Planning & Development, Public safety, Traffic alerts