Roundabouts Continue Reducing Injuries and Crashes in Pennsylvania
Crashes with injuries reduced by 51 percent
Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that at locations where traditional intersections were replaced with roundabouts, crashes involving injuries were reduced by 51 percent and the total number of crashes were reduced by 7 percent. During the 20-year review period, there have been two fatalities at roundabouts on state routes.
“Roundabouts have proven to be an irreplaceable tool in reducing crashes at intersections,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “Given the dramatic increase in safety and traffic flow, PennDOT will continue evaluating intersections for roundabouts.”
PennDOT evaluated 47 roundabouts on state routes at intersections that were previously stop- or signal-controlled with at least three years of crash data available before and after the roundabouts were built and had at least one crash during the 20-year review period. In addition to the roundabouts that met the selection criteria, 46 additional roundabouts have been built on state routes.
Roundabouts are frequently installed to address safety issues, calm traffic and improve traffic flow, and beautify an intersection. Although roundabouts are typically safer and more efficient than traditional signalized intersections, they may not always be the best option due to topography or for other reasons, such as property impacts and capacity issues.
The eight new roundabouts included in this year’s review are at the following intersections:
Adams County:
- Route 94 and Stoney Point Road.
Cumberland County:
- Route 1011 (Lambs Gap Road) and Bali Hai Road.
- Route 2017 (Lisburn Road) and Rossmoyne Road.
Lancaster County:
- Route 772 (Rothsville Road) and 6th Street Extension.
- Route 4022 (Woodcrest Avenue) and West 6th Street.
Mercer County:
- Route 62 and Shenango Valley Mall.
Philadelphia County
- Route 2007 (Frankford Avenue), York Street and Trenton Avenue.
Washington County
- Route 1009 (Morganza Road) and Baker Road.
Additional roundabouts included in this review and information pertaining to roundabouts can be found on the PennDOT website including an educational video on how to navigate both single and multi-lane roundabouts whether in a vehicle, on a bicycle or on foot. The video can also be viewed on PennDOT’s YouTube channel.
Roundabouts are recognized by the Pennsylvania State Transportation Innovation Council (STIC) as an innovation that has become standard practice within the transportation community.
The Pennsylvania STIC facilitates the rapid implementation of proven, well-researched and documented state, regional, national and international technologies, tactics, techniques and other innovations that are new to Pennsylvania. The STIC also supports the implementation of the Federal Highway Administration’s Every Day Counts (EDC) innovations.
Subscribe to statewide PennDOT news and traffic alerts at www.penndot.pa.gov/news or choose a region under “Regional Offices.” Information about the state’s infrastructure and results PennDOT is delivering for Pennsylvanians can be found at www.penndot.pa.gov/results. Find PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects at www.projects.penndot.gov.
Follow PennDOT on Twitter and like the department on Facebook and Instagram.