MINI-ROUNDABOUTS IN VAEXJOE: AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

The construction of a mini-roundabout at a four-road crossing in a densely populated area results in a substantial reduction of the costs of health-care, net lost production, property damage and administration. This finding is the outcome of this paper, an economic evaluation of the effect of 5 mini-roundabouts in the city of Vaexjoe in Sweden. Another finding was that rebuilding a crossing from give-way construction to a mini-roundabout increased the travelling time, and hence the cost of travelling time. With regards to crossings in which traffic lights were replaced by mini-roundabouts, however, the cost of travelling time decreased. It is clear, from the calculations that the initial character of the individual crossing has marked effect on the outcome. With reference to crossings converted into mini-roundabouts (from being of the give-way variety) the net cost of each prevented statistical death varied from SEK 1 million to just under SEK 11 million.(A)