Roundabouts: International Experiences Influencing Canada

Roundabouts have been used for many years in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia and are now becoming more prevalent in North America. Several different design philosophies exist, however most methods take into consideration the relationships between geometry, safety and capacity. One challenge for Canadian and North American engineers is to balance these competing objectives using design principles based on scientific research while educating the public on the appropriate use of these intersection treatments. Proper signage and markings on all roadways, including roundabouts, are instrumental in providing drivers with positive guidance, advance warning, and rules of the road education. It is also important for Canada to start with a nationally recognized set of markings and signs in order to establish consistency. However, international influences such as Europe have already resulted in various signing and marking practices being used in North America and Canada. This may be problematic since Canada has a set of signing and marking principles already that do not necessarily conform to the United States and are substantially different than those implemented in Europe. There is a need in Canada to substantiate “best practices” using recognition and compliance testing. Although roundabouts are quite new in North America, safety studies have shown promising results. A recent study indicates that roundabouts may reduce collisions by about 40 percent after installation. This paper will discuss the status of roundabout design, signing and marking, and safety experiences in Canada, how the installation of roundabouts may be contributing to Canada’s road safety goal of having the safest roads in the world, and the challenges that Canada still faces in regards to consistent roundabout guidelines, development, and implementation.