Making Roundabouts Work for Pedestrians and Bicycles

2014PDFBriefFHWA-SA-13-031RoundaboutsPedestriansBicyclesPedestrian safetyBicycle safetyUnited StatesUnited States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of SafetyUnited States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of SafetyArseneau, RobertShaw, JeffreyFederal Highway AdministrationThe City of Madison, Wisconsin has been building roundabouts for over fifteen years. Their first modern roundabout, constructed and opened to traffic in 1999, was successful and accepted by the local residents. Soon the modern roundabout became the City's preferred intersection design, whenever feasible, and this priority continues today. Over time, people traveling across Madison have become more familiar with roundabouts and have gained confidence in their performance. However, Madison has also made walking and biking a high priority with ambitious goals, so concerns for pedestrian and bicyclist safety and access are still expressed at nearly every initial public meeting involving a roundabout proposal. To address these concerns and build roundabouts that are multimodal, City staff has collected a library of design techniques, which are intended to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety. These techniques are applied in a holistic manner, considering all users and their needs, throughout the design process, to arrive at a balanced and optimal design.93