Eastern Railroad Discussion > Proposed roundabout encircling a railroad diamond

New roundabout planned in statesboro GA - Just because you can do something doesnt mean you should. 

Georgia DOT holding ‘virtual open house’ on roundabout at South Main and Fair Road intersection; feedback deadline Tuesday - Statesboro Herald
 

What lines are these and what's the traffic density on the lines and the roads.    Just from the appearance of the crossings, lines, and roads, it looks like it would improve safety, but I wonder how many properties they would have to take.

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Roudabouts are a cancer infesting the country.  I can't stand them.  Try to go around one with a semi-truck.

That is a very confusing intersection. It has a lot of vehicle traffic going south on Main Street and south Main Street to Fair road. As for rail traffic,at the most,one round trip a day across one side. The other side is an industrial lead that has very little if any industry left on it. On football Saturday the traffic increases considerably. My college Alma mater is about a mile after the Main Street Fair Road split 

Sam

The linked report is from October of 2023.   Looking at the project website no new updates.

From the website both lines are marked as owned by NS but run by Georgia Southern. 

The roundabout could be a good solution and easier to block traffic to allow rail traffic through.   I do understand about semi truck traffic but if designed correctly it can work.  The one proposed has a pretty large radius.

That line sees a 10 mph shortline move in each direction on M-W-F.

Posted from Android

Topfuel Wrote:
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> Roudabouts are a cancer infesting the country.  I
> can't stand them.  Try to go around one with a
> semi-truck.


When's the last time someone got killed in a wreck in a roundabout?

When the last time someone got killed in a T-bone wreck at a 4-way intersection?

That's all these planners are thinking about, not whether people like them.

Posted from Android

Topfuel Wrote:
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> Roudabouts are a cancer infesting the country.  I
> can't stand them.  Try to go around one with a
> semi-truck.

Yes
Couldn’t agree with you more.
New river bridge was installed for a large Campbell Soup plant near me.
Lots of semi traffic. So both ends of the bridge have a roundabout.

Posted from iPhone

These are very low volume lines. One is a former CofG branch. The other has an interesting history as the Savannah & Statesboro. Most of the S&S was abandoned in 1950 under ownership of the Georgia & Florida, but a short section remains in Statesboro to serve two customers. There's a connection, outside the photo, between the S&S and the ex-CofG.

Roundabouts are definitely getting popular in the U.S. They nearly eliminate T-bone collisions, they often reduce delays attributable to left turns, and they have lower operating costs than traffic signals. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/24 07:04 by ctillnc.

cjvrr Wrote:
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> The linked report is from October of 2023. 
>  Looking at the project website no new updates.
>
> From the website both lines are marked as owned by
> NS but run by Georgia Southern. 
>
> The roundabout could be a good solution and easier
> to block traffic to allow rail traffic through. 
>  I do understand about semi truck traffic but if
> designed correctly it can work.  The one proposed
> has a pretty large radius.

Doesn’t really matter how large the radius is. All it takes is one imbecile that wants to ride aside of your trailer.

Posted from iPhone

Doug Wetherhold
Macungie, PA

Georgia DOT seems to be a fan of roundabout's.

I'd better get used to them, though I acknowledge the benefits.
 

are the speeds in/around most roundabouts the same as the posted speed limits before/after them?

just curious..........

66

 

I hate roundabouts they are unnatural 

goneon66 Wrote:
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> are the speeds in/around most roundabouts the same
> as the posted speed limits before/after them?
>
> just curious..........
>
> 66
>

Typically you have a 'yield' sign to enter them. I'll have to check the speed limit on the closet roundabout to me.  

You are not going through them at a high speed, but usually you don't have to stop.

I don't think anything can top Jensen Beach in FL.  That defies all logic.  Go look at that one.  That's had multiple vehicle vs. rail accidents.  FEC + Brightline

We just got a roundabout in our town.   Vehicular actually seems to work OK even as a major truck intersection, but it's downtown and there's no pedestrian protection in a residential and commercial hub, which makes no sense to me.  But so far no fatalaties.

 

thanks for that "yield" sign info.  

in addition to the "yield" sign, i think the speed limit in/through a roundabout should be slower than the speed limit on the approach to them.

if peds depend on a roundabout, the speed limits should definitely be reduced...........

66

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/24 07:52 by goneon66.

Some roundabouts will use traffic signals to control access to the circle, especially from side streets, etc.

In Jensen Beach FL, as Randgust notes, many drivers have to make a lane change within the circle, as they cross the tracks.

ShortlinesUSA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Topfuel Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Roudabouts are a cancer infesting the country. 
> I
> > can't stand them.  Try to go around one with a
> > semi-truck.
>
>
> When's the last time someone got killed in a wreck
> in a roundabout?
>
> When the last time someone got killed in a T-bone
> wreck at a 4-way intersection?
>
> That's all these planners are thinking about, not
> whether people like them.
>
> Posted from Android


1000% correct!!   They work!   They've built several in our community in several locations where traffic backed up bigtime and once they converted them to a roundabout traffic no longer backed up.   The people that complain are the ones that have low IQ and cant figure them out.....they are the true cancer!!

Roundabouts work until some Bozo thinks a Yield sign means stop. Most drivers around here have no idea how to appraoch one. When I first started driving in the Sixties New Jersey had large multi-lane "Circles" as they called them. They still have some. They are a "Free for All". Many of the major ones that obstructed traffic flow to and from the Jersey beaches were replaced with over/under interchanges, incredibly easier for straight through traffic on either road, but unfortunately incredibly more expensive. As for any railroad in the middle of one, arghh! It sounds like low traffic rail so not like a mainline with lots of fast moving trains.
I find the use of Roundabouts and the drivers in and around them a major PITA! If I can I avoid the roads that have one.
Gonut

Gonut1 Wrote:
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> Roundabouts work until some Bozo thinks a Yield
> sign means stop. Most drivers around here have no
> idea how to appraoch one. 

That's the problem I have with them, nothing inherently wrong with the concept but way too many people just don't know how to use them or simply blast their way through like they have the right of way. I wonder if its still better to make everyone stop...

JG