Today I learned that all the people who hate the Northland/Richmond roundabout and think it is accident central have ample reason to complain. Personally, I love roundabouts and think they’re the most fun intersections in the entire world. As a result, I always put people’s complaints about the Northland/Richmond roundabout off to the general dislike that a certain portion of our community holds for roundabouts, but I was absolutely and completely wrong in my assessment.
Below is a chart showing the accidents at that intersection stretching back to the beginning of 2011.
Up through 2015 the intersection was a standard signalized intersection that averaged 25 total accidents and 6.8 injury causing accidents per year which, if the 2019 Annual Crash Report was any indication, was probably the highest number of crashes for any intersection in the city.
In 2016 and 2017, the intersection underwent reconstruction. Then in 2018 it opened up for traffic again as a roundabout.
In 2018 and 2019, since having been turned into a roundabout, it has averaged 79 total crashes a year with 7 of them being injury causing. Since becoming a roundabout, its crash rate has tripled and the number of injury-causing accidents hasn’t even decreased.
I still love roundabouts, but these numbers are a little hard to argue with. The people who hate that roundabout definitely have some serious statistics on their side.
I still love roundabouts though.
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