Raleigh drivers: Get ready for more roundabouts

The city's first major roundabouts – at Hillsborough Street and Pullen Road – opened to mixed reviews in 2010.

The dual-lane layout, chosen based on traffic projections, saw an increase in collisions at the intersection and required a rebuild two years later. With a single lane circle, Eric Lamb, transportation planning manager for the City of Raleigh, says crashes are down.

With the kinks worked out, Raleigh is expanding the use of roundabouts across the city.

"These roundabouts should help with traffic flow and making it easier to access transit in the area," Lamb said.

In addition to a reduction the frequency and severity of collisions, Lamb said, roundabouts make a street more pedestrian-friendly.

"It makes it pretty easy to walk across the street when you've got a roundabout in place," he said.

On Buck Jones Road in west Raleigh, a road widening project included a roundabouts at Farm Gate Road. That intersection opened earlier this week. Additional roundabouts are planned for the west end of Hillsborough Street and on Oberlin Road just north of Cameron Village.