Franklin Boulevard Roundabouts

[Canard]

The Franklin/Pinebush roundabout is now about 50% complete. Earlier this week, Franklin through traffic shifted from the straight-through (original pavement) configuration, to the East side of the roundabout. Crews have now started working on the West side.

Looking forward to this one getting open. Franklin South of here is reduced to 1 lane in each direction (because of the restriction at Pinebush), and it makes it rather terrible.

The one at Sheldon looks great, and I like the grassy Boulevard that this whole project has added down Franklin. What was once an industrial (hostile!) wasteland, now actually looks halfway decent!

[gomesjustin]

Couldn't agree with you more Canard!

[Canard]

Franklin/Pinebush Roundabout is open as of about 1 hour ago! One lane only, but all 4 entry/exit points are available now.

[Canard]

Franklin is closing for 2 days this weekend, I'd imagine for "final work" to be completed (I really hope so). With just one lane open for most of the Northern part of Franklin, it's awful driving through in the afternoon. All the roundabouts just back up and nobody knows enough to leave a gap to let cross traffic still circulate. I was optimistic this could work here, but now I'm not so sure. I'll reserve judgement until both lanes in each direction are open.

[Canard]

Hate to say it, but this is now a total disaster. At rush hour, the roundabouts completely clog at a total standstill. This is awful.

[Viewfromthe42]

Are they being used properly?

[danbrotherston]

Hate to say it, but this is now a total disaster. At rush hour, the roundabouts completely clog at a total standstill. This is awful.

There is a learning curve remember.  The first point on the curve is .... "wait till traffic circle completely empty before moving" curve, which leads to enormous traffic jams.  The next point is "go without looking", and finally "actual understanding of how to use infra".  Drivers move at different rates through this curve, and while most in Kitchener seem to be at the end, it's conceivable that many more in Cambridge are still at the beginning.  Give it time.

Obviously I exaggerate for comedic effect, but it is definitely true that driver's who haven't seen circles are more hesitant.  I would expect it to improve.

I'd also wonder, and I haven't driven so I don't know, but do you really mean "total standstill", as in, you stop for extended (more than 2-4 seconds) periods of time?  Often people say this when traffic is merely moving slowly, which really actually still moves a surprising number of cars, since less space is needed for each vehicle.

[panamaniac]

Are they being used properly?

Why would they be the ones that are used properly? 
Actually don't roundabouts inevitably gum up in heavy traffic, for want of opportunity for yielding traffic to enter the circle?

[timio]

They tend to get lineups at the lesser used direction because traffic on the "main" road doesn't slow down to a reasonable speed leaving no space for others to enter safely. Eg Ira Needles as the main thoroughfare and Highland as the lesser traveled road.

[jamincan]

I kind of wonder if they shouldn't put speed bumps at the entrances and exits for the ones that are most problematic. The last time I went through the Pinebush/Franklin roundabout, that was the main problem. Traffic on Franklin was moving too fast and not providing an opportunity for cross traffic. I don't find the problem is nearly as bad on Ira Needles.

[Canard]

The problem right now is still that for whatever reason it's restricted to one lane between Sheldon and Pinebush, which is absolutely crippling.  I should reserve judgement (and had been for many, many weeks) until it's fully open but it doesn't seem like there is an end in sight.  Trying to get across Franklin on Sheldon at rush hour is a lesson in anxiety and stress because some people do leave gaps, but not everyone does, so judging when you can sneak through a fully-jammed and total-standstill (Franklin-traffic) roundabout is daunting.  While I'm complaining:  I cannot stand how narrow they made the Westbound Sheldon entrance at Sheldon/Franklin!  How on earth did that get approved? There is not enough room for the two lanes here and every day I feel like people are going to rip the side mirrors right off my car trying to blow past.

Totally agreed on the speed bump thing to moderate/regulate input speeds - maybe that's what has to happen.  The idea was with the little chicane before the roundabouts that they would lower speeds... but, even I like to have fun and zip around them pretty quick instead of slowing down - it's too fun.  But exactly as you say - when the speeds in the primary direction are too high, it's virtually impossible to mesh in properly from the secondary roads.

[BuildingScout]

Actually don't roundabouts inevitably gum up in heavy traffic, for want of opportunity for yielding traffic to enter the circle?

Yes, this is particularly the case when at least one of the intersecting roads has very heavy traffic. There is a permanent flow of cars along that road, while the ones on the other road wait endlessly for an opportunity to sneak in. In certain circles (no pun intended) this is known at starvation and is one of the main reasons why roundabouts tend to fail in really busy intersections.

By the way, part of my childhood was in a country with plenty of roundabouts and I love them for small intersections. They replace the hideous four way stop. But I also saw them fail first hand in busy intersections and be replaced with traffic lights to the delight of all motorists, and that is before we get into issues with cyclists and pedestrians in said busy roundabouts.

Here's a reference for the academically inclined:

Existing studies on modern roundabouts performance are mostly based on data from singe lane roundabouts that are not heavily congested.

From: X. Chen, M.S. Lee,  "A case study on multi-lane roundabouts under congestion: Comparing software capacity and delay estimates with field data", Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering. April 2016.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/art...6416300563

[Markster]

If things are still restricted to a single lane, then yeah, that's going to be killer for capacity.

Yes, this is particularly the case when at least one of the intersecting roads has very heavy traffic. There is a permanent flow of cars along that road, while the ones on the other road wait endlessly for an opportunity to sneak in. In certain circles (no pun intended) this is known at starvation and is one of the main reasons why roundabouts tend to fail in really busy intersections.

Yeah, at best, the hope is that some of the traffic on the busy street is making left hand turns, so that they briefly stop the opposing traffic from flowing in. But, if those left turning people don't signal their exit, then those on the side street may not know it's safe to filter in.

There will definitely be learning pains.

[Canard]

Holy crap, the Pinebush/Franklin roundabout is huge. I normally drive through this every day but for the past couple of weeks I've been avoiding it - went through again today and almost all the landscaping is done, final pavement is in, and the absolute largest road signs I have ever seen anywhere have gone up at all the entrance/exit points, directing and guiding the flow in this massive 3-lane monstrosity!

Getting excited to see this finished off. I hope it works.

[Canard]

Some photos, heading Northbound on Franklin through the Franklin/Pinebush Roundabout: