Roundabouts will get big test Tuesday

garyprimer, you nut!!!

The only problem that I can see with the roundabout is that there is quite a big bump that you experience when crossing the center. ;-)

It's just a round about, no one has to learn rocket science!! You are all making something out of nothing!!

that would be a COLD day in "H-E-double hockey sticks", gazettefan. But an interesting proposal, nonetheless.

To encourage friendly and eager use of the roundabout, an official opening would be in order:

A round stage in the center could be constructed. On opening day B'moon could be up there in a mini-skirt and go-go boots boogalooing to the endless play of Funky Funky Broadway.

Then Sheiffer, dressed in a day-glo Nehru jacket and a neon headband, shows up by way of two or three of those big bouncy somersaults like they do in the kung fu movies, lands feet first on the stage next to B'moon then the two commence to dirty dancin'.

Peace will guide the planets.

I haven't taken the test yet. Looks like the curve will be low enough for me to ace it.

Most folks in this town can't successfully navigate a four way stop. This removes one step from the complicated navigation of two intersecting roads...

Now, Janesville Streets Department - the final test is on you - will you keep them plowed and salted correctly so that we won't have the same issues as the roundabouts in Fitchburg? Icy roundabouts are near impossible to navigate - at least you can slide through a four way stop.

what I want to know is how many passed the test? and did they have to grade on a "curve"?

and who is "they" anyway?

Who's the smartest boy in the room? JanesvilleHero, that's who! Yes you are, yes you are, yes you are my smart boy! Yes you are my smart boy! Good. Now sit.

Gazettefan- Beautiful post, perfectly brilliant!

"when you get a round tuit I guess we'll see you at the top"

just to inform you, we are talking about the roundabout, not an escalator, so there is no elevation.

LOL

The point in my earlier comment has been proven. Simply read the majority of the comments here and one will see...the people of this town are too simple for the "complicated" concept of a roundabout.

Hey, when you get a round tuit I guess we'll see you at the top...

It took six days of discussion before someone said "in a roundabout way"?
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I can't decide if this is good or bad. (I may have to get a round tuit eventually.)

yeah...that COULD be even more confusing at that time of the year. I think a press release (and the blogging comments necessary for clarification) will be warranted.

also, I think, in a roundabout way, once they are finished with having a member from city staff offering assistance to folks (whether they (the driver) thinks they need help or not) [Do you think 2 years is enough time?]...

...they could put a toll booth up - and it goes without saying - that you pay the toll each time you pass it, so the city could do VERY well by the people who drive the circle multiple times before "getting off"...

Once Hedberg receives the intructional DVDs, the city should construct a kiosk at the roundabout that houses DVD players equiped with headphones.

To augment the learning process, walking, on site demonstrations could be conducted by city staff with the assistence of interns who plan to pursue careers in public service.

An ombudsmen on site will deal with any concerns and suggestions from the public. An official city liason will relay all pressing matters immediately to the city manager's office.

In the fall the city should issue a press release to inform the public if the driving direction of the roundabout is reversed when we set our clocks back.

as I said, it's obviously been an issue with others. I think the key to efficiency is knowing where you eventually want to be. Or you can use the old standby, "you can't get there from here." Whatever works for you. There is another option, I guess, too...don't go where you'll have to navigate a roundabout. I just don't know that I would need to drive around it 5 times to realize I recognize the scenery and that I must be lost. Could just be me, though.

since I have never heard of or seen one I just did a u turn.As I mentioned it was dark and rainy. At first I thought why do I have to go into menards parking lot to get out of here. Now that I know what a round about is I understand it. I havent tried it yet when menards is actually open.I will and report back to you. I went threw during the day after knowing what the heck it was and did fine.Again there wasnt any traffic.

As another guy mentioned it took him 5 times around to get out cause traffic was busy. Doesnt seem so efficient then does it?

sorry hannah. I was kind of rude. Apparently, the roundabout is difficult for more than just you to navigate.

But just to be clear, you asked if I was in an accident, not if I've done anything wrong. You can think of me as perfect if you would like to, but I will be the first to say I'm not.

Ofcorse you havent how could ms perfect/mssassy do anything wrong?

nope. not a one.

ms sassy- I drive fine in Chicago. But thanks for your concern. I have never been in an accident in 22 years. have you?

hey hannah, you better stay away from chicago. don't want any accidents.

In a way, no, attorneyatlarge, I only spent a little time in a medevac plane in the Toykyo airport -going from one country to another. I had no knowledge that they have anything like the cruise car turn table.

I wrote that post while under the morning remnants of a rum buzz. It's starting to look like a good idea now.

That sounds suspiciously like Tokyo, gazettefan. You've been?

westside, what about this? The roundabout gets converted to a big giant solar powered turn table. People with collector cars can take turns on it on cruise night. The woman can wear bathing suits and spin around on the roundabout while waving to onlookers.

whos up for a game of ring around the round-about?

That wasn't a magic potion reference, ms...sassy (not before 6pm). It was a pessimistic reference to the ongoing clash of civilizations.

Now that I think of it, it's a little too oblique and possibley not PC. Wouldn't blame site staff for dumping it.

going on a little magic carpet ride are you, gazettefan?

Stepping onto that escalator will be good practice for when we all have start boarding flying carpets.

I like how Messer says "you only have to look in one direction"

Saying "DRIVE WHILE ONLY LOOKING IN ONE DIRECTION" is kind of a dumb thing thing to recommend to the public, especially in Janesville, where everyone either drives drunk, high, or like they rode the short bus in school..

That escalator is really frustrating. The people in front of you just stand there and won't let you get around them.

Just got back from the Round-a-bout, and I am still dizzy! Getting into it was no problem, but I had to go around more than 5 times till I was able to get out. What a waste of gas!

spinmaster- maybe youre thinking of the old sears downtown on the river where old folks apartments are now

spin master. I do not remember excalotor at Woolworths. ONLY STAIRS. I was little and maybe I dont remember but it would have been fasanating and I would have ridden it. just remmeber stairs- yucky, dirty ,broken linoliuen. And the hot dogs on toasted bread not buns. CANDY row yum

Actually, Testerrific, I'm pretty sure Woolworth's in downtown Janesville had the first operating escalator. Though by the time Sears opened, Woolworth's was closed, so Sears did have the ONLY operating escalator in town, much to the awe of shoppers, as you said. I so agree with your view on the right turn/straight lanes at stoplights. It makes NO SENSE! And roundabouts aren't that big of a deal. People just need to deal with changes. But we all know that folks in Janesburg don't like no change.

Having learned to drive in England, roundabouts won't be a problem. Remembering to go anti clockwise tho might be

A "turnaround" in Janesville?? Good God, man, this is certainly newsworthy! Not only is a "turnaround" a confusing concept, but it is also horribly basic. I love local news.

I remember years ago when Sears opened in the Janesville Mall and it featured...hold your breath now...the only operating escalator in Rock County!! The slack-jawed yokels crowded around with curiousty!!! It was "so" 20th Century. Coverage was full in the Gazette..oh, the photos of locals in awe of the beast was astounding.

I only hope that Janesville does not soon acquire an ability to realize that it is completely impractical to have the right turn lanes at stoplights combined with the staight-away lanes, thusly favoring the left-turn lanes to stand alone. This realization would actually allow traffic to flow quicker, which would completely cause disarray in the Janesvillian concept of traffic flow. If that were to happen...Good Lord...the concept might make sense, and would thus be rendered senseless.

But these are the things we must deal with, if we wish to live in a Utopia like Janesville, with escalators and turnarounds and such. God help us the day we figure out this sidewalk situation. It will be our end.

but the thought of him eating goat cheese suddenly made me throw up a little in my mouth. thanks.

to be honest, I haven't given him much thought at all. his words kind of distract me from what he is actually trying to say.

um...I think you should just TRY it and find out that you don't want to do anything terribly out of your character...you won't end up believing that Frosty the Snow Man is God or that there are people looking in your windows or anything crazy. It's hard to explain, however, it is not the devil.

Yeah, he wails sheepskins like Carter got little liver pills.

Have you noticed how much he's elevated the level of thought here? He's out there in Kaula Lampor or something eating goat cheese!

All that artificial fragrence stuff is bad.

Ok, if I read the Tibetan Book of the Dead would I end up believing I was the reincarnation of Iknaton, the hippie Pharoah?

LOL..no kidding, gazettefan. If s/he were, we would sure be getting lashes with wet noodles for our line of conversation now, wouldn't we? (it would be ALL your fault, though, of course.)

I don't understand the whole incense thing. It's not a good smell at all! (and as I've stated, gives me a headache.)

Yeah, let's lose the incense, not good, not good.

With the diet coke, of course.

Glad mabu... isn't here.

ya can't really stand the incense, i get headaches as well.

and, as if I needed to state the obvious, you would probably prefer rum.

have to? the only thing you HAVE to do is live and die...and pay taxes...

buying incense is totally up to you! I personally find that incense gives me a headache. I prefer the smell of brandy and diet coke. lol

gotchya.

Ok, now would I have to buy incense?

if you don't know which is which, you can't be either. lol

Ok now, is Cheech the smart one and is Chong the stone stoner, or what?

You get kicked off if you use fowl language about being off topic.

ok, well maybe you get cranky remarks from other posters when you get off topic...

anyway, gazettefan, I think you would be a good cheech marin. I'm not sure you could pull off chong. no offense. :)

this is off topic, but i didn't realize you get kicked off for being off topic. I thought you got the boot if you used foul language frequently

There should be people handing out high fives on all the exit turn offs

I think site staff is flexible.

Ok, would I be more like Cheech? or would I be more like Chong?

um...no. just don't want to get into "trouble" again for getting off topic. Gazette staff will throw us out of here if we make too many comments that are off track...or off the roundabout is probably more accurate.

are you apologizing lol

yeah, I don't think gazettefan will be looking to make a buy anytime soon. especially on the roundabout. he has been steadfast in his opposition. I have to give him a little ^5 for that, I suppose.

westside, I resent the implication.

Tip to crack heads and coke heads:

Stay home.

sassy- they are going to be waiting on all the right turns so they can try and sell gazetteefan a bag!

at least you are giving equal time to the recreational users out there...now what about those coke and crackheads?

Tip to juicers:

Stay off the turnabout.

yo, gazettefan, thanks. perhaps I will wait until the dvd comes out and will check it out at Hedberg. lmao

your tips are refreshing. what WOULD we do without you?!? lol

Tip to stoners:

Once you are on the roundabout, you eventually have to make another right turn!

JanesvilleHero-
I remember riding the Circuit in the late '60's. It was all one-way streets and it was just a really big circle. Except that it was all LEFT turns! So everyone should be able to use a roundabout (which is also a one-way street) but it is all RIGHT turns!
I'm sorry, I am really amused by this. Having lived in other states that used them, it saved time (especially when there are 6 to 8 roads that merge on and off) and was much better than the intersections that had traffic lights and 6 to 8 roads coming together. There was also no problem with plowing them when it snowed.

irishmafia- i do agree with that. I have seen the people who are in two lanes turning and DONT stay in their lane threw the whole turn and cut you off. Theyld get slammmed in chicago.

I went their monday pm. oops I guess i did a uturn in the round about. It was dark and rainy and like I said I didnt see the "sign" oh well I looked all around for traffic and it was late and no other cars.

hahaha gazettefan, thats a good one!

Wait until the first fender bender occurs at the roundabout (and you know it will--they can and do happen anywhere), OMG, it will be the end of the world!

I'm waiting till Hedberg gets an instructional DVD.

I've seen folks here in town who haven't mastered red lights, train signals, the speed limit, pulling over for emergency vehicles, letting people cross the street in a crosswalk and four-way intersections... God help us all in the roundabout.

The roundabout looks good and works fine. The new Menards is very nice and is a big improvement over the old store. I especially like the fact that they don't have things piled to the ceiling like the Home Depot does. I was afraid that it would just be another HD, but it is more shopper friendly. You might guess that I am not a big fan of HD. That's just me, I need to run in and buy stuff and don't have all day to wander through a huge store. I just have to figure out where everything is. It will be nice not to have to go out to the yard to get a few 2x4's or a sheet of plywood.

Roundabouts. Great idea in certain countries. Certain places in U.S, too. But Janesville? Even after decades of one-way streets downtown, people in this town still couldn't figure out how to drive them. So we changed the city by lowering itself even further to meet needs of most in this town. Now this? Good luck! People in this town are just too simple to understand how these work. Sorry. But it's true.

The muses dance and sing
They make the children really ring
I spend the day your way

Is this going to turn into "Rain Man" problem?
Everytime Rain Man is on, you find a group of kids standing in the middle of an intersection, because the Don't walk signal comes on half way through the crosswalk.
Now everytime European Vaction comes on, they will spend 10 minutes driving around the roundabout.
Better install a Mickey D's with a Drive around window!

TO FUTURETEACHER:
Call it morning driving thru the sound and in and out the valley

I am suprised that no one has caught the real reason why these roundabouts are being installed prior to the election.
This is just an evil republican control of the vote in November...
Think about this, everyone must go right, even those who want to go left must go right to get there...
If this is true, then we need to rename the cow to Chad, ...hanging Chad

Good one, sassy.

I hope CNN or Leno or Conan don't get a hold of this!

Good God people - get over it. It's a little circle to go around, then you turn right and WOW you're at Menard's. And when you leave, you do it again and WOW you're out of Menard's. OOOOOHHHHH my head is spinning - oh my I've driven in a whole circle - whooooooo - DUH - My God you'd think NASA has come and installed a new space ship for us to navigate - sorry, but it is sad to me to think that a little circle to drive around is actually news. Geez.

outdoors...assuming that you're talking about the sign and the pavement arrows on the eastbound lane (from behind Target driving towards Milton Avenue) the left/straight arrow is the for the people in that lane who wish to turn left into the Menards parking lot before they get to the roundabout. There is a driveway into the Menards parking lot just before you get to the roundabout.

everybody better get to bed early and have a good breakfast. tomorrow's the big test! hehe

http://www.dot.state.wi.us/safety/motori...

more reading for anyone that wants to.

thanks nowind- just clarifying- I thought someone here mentioned that people in roundabout yield to people trying to get in and that sounded strange. I may have misread it too.

it really isn't that big of a deal. people are making WAY more out of this than it is. It's not like it's going to be I-294 style traffic.

Whoever designed those turn-abouts is crazy. it is a liability waiting to happen. Someone mentioned the snow plow drivers having a hard to plowing. We do get snow here sometimes. LOL Nobody knows how has the right away, except for people who read the blogs. That is not a great concept.

KRJ-(Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament!) Classic!!
"I can't get left."

No hannah

Trafic in the Roundabout has the right of way.
or yeild to Roundabout trafic. There should be signs put in with basic rules like this stated.

did somebody say the car trying to get into the roundabout has the right of way?

This insane roundabout will double the business for Home Depot - I will NEVER sit thru the congestion by Menards again

correction. by looking at the pic I dont think I even got to the round about area. before wondering how to get out of Del taco with out going INTO menards and doing a uturn right after exit drive at Del taco . BTW THE ONLY EXIT DRIVE.

Taco were lame. i added sour cream for 40 cents each taco.

there should be another sign there. I went to the del taco and pulled out to find i could only go right. I thought that was stupid. There wasnt a sign to let me know of a round about after pulling out of taco place. I did a u turn guess it was really a round about turn.

Some examples of Old School Roundabout That have been working for years.

On the beach
http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=42.456816...
Down town Salem
http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=42.523785...
And a big one
http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=42.523785...

Roundabouts can be great for a comunity. There are a good number of Roundabout (Rotory's) in and around Boston. They were a natural extention of the cow paths that became the roads out there. They needed a way to control trafic of several roads comming from diferent angles. Very few of the roads intersect at right angles and usualy you have more than 4 incomming roads at an intersection. These work without signals, so they have been working since before electricity.
It is also more economical. If you don't have to stop you can save gas and Im sure we will all apriciate that.
The problem with many of the roundabouts I have seen here in WI are they are to small. If you even think you have the option of making a Left turn then some stuborn folks will and they will be causing accidents. When they are this small trucks can have lots of problems navigating them. This should not be a problem at Menards.
Simple Rule, "Trafic in Rotory has right of way", and your brake is not your friend.

"mountains come out of the sky and they stand there"

A nice European touch is the stop signal that has a pointer which indicates how much time is left on the red, green, yellow signals. Mechanical pointer. Very handy.

If you really want to practice roundabouts, go to Mount Horeb. From 18-151 to downtown, there are 5-6 of them within a mile and a half distance.
If you can make it through that short distance, the last one will kill you.
Good thing there is a cemetary at that corner!

I know garrison! Every time I hear that word I can only hear "I'll be the roundabout" in my head!

janesvillian - accessing freeways, you are supposed to SPEED UP and match the speed of the traffic flow on the interstate. i been behind too many people who actually stop before they get on the freeway.VERY NERVE RACKING!!

gazettefan, you crack me up! LOL!! I can see it now...imagine all of those captain and coke amateurs after double bubble...I wonder what the Gazette would figure out for THAT headline!

What about a two-way roundabout?

In and around the lake...

Roundabout? Yes!

(Sorry, '70's rock reference.)

michelle, forgot to add: the Menard's roundabout has only one real lane and outside turning lanes. The inside, colored surface lane is to provide room for semi-trailer trucks to turn.

michelle, I drove through it today (along with a few other looky-loos). I believe you can get into the parking lot by taking the west entrance at Bell then turn right on Morse and left into the lot.
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It really isn't hard. First, you DO yield to traffic in the roundabout. It's just like a freeway entrance ramp -- slow down and wait for an opening. (Not that anyone is really going that fast.) As Ms Sassy says, turn right. Then keep going until you want to turn right again.
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tallman, roundabouts have proven popular and successful wherever they have been tried. I honestly don't know what your objection is other than that they're different.
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prevention, the very first modern roundabout in the US was an Interstate interchange in Vail:
http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=39.643519...
They may not be suitable for all areas or traffic volumes, but they definitely solved a circulation and space problem there.

I guess I don't understand what the big deal is. Turn right.

Goody!! My summer fun includes grabbing an ice cream cone at Culver's and heading over to the Menard's parking lot to watch drivers tackle the roundabout!

If the people don't like it they can always go to Home Depot.

If people have a hard time maneuvering a simple, single roundabout, they should try the English one just outside of Benfleet (UK) with 5 roundabouts put immediately together! In reality, they are safer, keep traffic moving (albeit not as fast as speed-crazed Americans would probably like) and are incredibly efficient. Roundabouts in Colorado are gorgeous in the summer with the centers planted full of state wild flowers and there seems to be no problem snow plowing them even in the mountains. There are also roundabouts in Rice Lake (WI) where traffic coming onto and off the I-System flows MUCH better. I say bring on MORE roundabouts to all the 5-corner intersections in Janesville...as well as 2-way streets!