Traffic circles are not the nuisance some people make them out to be
Cranberry Township’s use of vehicle roundabouts could demonstrate a changing traffic landscape that is increasingly the future of suburban planning.
It’s not just Cranberry Township — national studies have shown that fatal crashes are reduced when an intersection goes from a stoplight to a roundabout. Officials in the township have taken notice of the studies.
Ron Henshaw, the township’s director of planning and development services, referenced Indiana as a city where roundabouts have grown in number. He added that the reduced speed roundabouts force on drivers makes the crashes that do happen less damaging.
It’s a compelling argument. Roundabouts reduce fatal car crashes, but is it an argument people will accept when it comes to the construction and road maintenance it takes to turn an intersection into a circular drive? Cranberry Township has had a few roundabouts installed in recent years. Henshaw said it takes a long time to actually put one in because of the traffic study and planning that needs to take place before their construction.
A 2024 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation study of 47 roundabouts on state-maintained routes found crashes resulting in injuries dropped by 51% and total crashes fell 7% after construction of a roundabout. The study used 20 years of crash data from roundabouts around the state.
Henshaw also said the cost to maintain a roundabout is cheaper in the long run compared with maintaining traffic lights, which is another point that could still be difficult for people to accept. The initial cost to install a roundabout is not cheap, but how long will it take to balance it out on the maintenance end?
Other than Cranberry Township, there are not many other prominent examples of roundabouts in Butler County, but that could change depending on the success and feedback the township sees after a few years. Maybe more roundabouts are in the future of Butler County motorists.
— ET
