A Traffic Circle at 41 and Fruitville - say it ain't so? (Sarasota: hotels, purchase)

[craigiri]

I'm from New Jersey - land of traffic circles....

Or, I should say FORMER land of traffic circles since they have spent the last two decades tearing them out and spending tens of billions to fix things.

Yet I read an article that one of the busiest intersections in Sarasota...with literally thousands of housing units let alone the regular hotels, beach and highway traffic - is slated to use a traffic circle. Also, the article said Sarasota is paying for it.....

This must be April Fools, right? First, a circle will not work. Secondly, the developers who are spending 100's of millions or over a billion have the responsibility to keep the traffic moving.

This is really going to be a nightmare if it gets built as planned. Some traffic study group must have gotten paid off because this is tens of thousands of cars daily.....

[gypsychic]

Well, I like the traffic circles, and I find that most of them work quite well, and are far more attractive than the usual stop lights and signs. The problem I see with this one is that the major intersection beyond it (the convergence of Ringling and 41) is a real cluster. Traffic can never move smoothly through, gets backed up all the time and with season it is nightmarish. They really need to come up with a better flow through that area.

[d4g4m]

It will be a nightmare because the state/county/city does not get involved in eminent domain to purchase the land necessary to make a properly designed circle work. ALL of the circles in Sarasota are too small and poorly designed. You can't take an existing intersection, remove the traffic light/stop sign, place a circle, and call it a round about.

[craigiri]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Well, I like the traffic circles, and I find that most of them work quite well, and are far more attractive than the usual stop lights and signs. The problem I see with this one is that the major intersection beyond it (the convergence of Ringling and 41) is a real cluster. Traffic can never move smoothly through, gets backed up all the time and with season it is nightmarish. They really need to come up with a better flow through that area.

I think you are talking about circles like the old ones in NJ - where everyone nicely cruises around them. This situation probably has 30 to 50X that amount of traffic - a LOT of it being big trucks and out of state drivers. It also has backups coming into it from all directions even before the traffic starts moving.

You will almost never find a traffic circle in a situation such as this.

Let's do some basic lane counting.

If we call 41 3 lanes each way that's 6.
Fruitville has at least 6 with the turning lanes.
The new developments will be car based and will have many thousands of vehicles - but let's figure low and say 4 additional lanes.

That is 16 lanes of traffic, much of it wanting to go in different directions which means it holds up the circle or causes an accident. This doesn't even take into account that most ALL of these inputs and outputs will be at full capacity and even backed up to other lights!

Nightmare. You heard it here first.

[Avalon08]

Originally Posted by craigiri

I think you are talking about circles like the old ones in NJ - where everyone nicely cruises around them. This situation probably has 30 to 50X that amount of traffic - a LOT of it being big trucks and out of state drivers. It also has backups coming into it from all directions even before the traffic starts moving.

You will almost never find a traffic circle in a situation such as this.

Let's do some basic lane counting.

If we call 41 3 lanes each way that's 6.
Fruitville has at least 6 with the turning lanes.
The new developments will be car based and will have many thousands of vehicles - but let's figure low and say 4 additional lanes.

That is 16 lanes of traffic, much of it wanting to go in different directions which means it holds up the circle or causes an accident. This doesn't even take into account that most ALL of these inputs and outputs will be at full capacity and even backed up to other lights!

Nightmare. You heard it here first.

I literally would start having anxiety when I'd approach the Jersey traffic circles, especially the one in Somers Point. Imagine my shock when I moved here and learned that traffic circles are the new "solution" in Sarasota and Manatee counties. So I almost got into an accident recently at a small circle at 75th St. W. and 53rd Ave. W. in Bradenton. I was going north on 75th (El Conquistador) and headed into the circle as a car coming south on 75th was coming around the circle to go east on 53rd. I guess I was supposed to yield, but I didn't even think of it or notice a sign. Well, I got quite a load of horn from that guy.

Also, when I'm coming south on 75th approaching that circle, sometimes I'm in the left lane and sometimes the right lane. But I have to remember to get over to the right if I want to continue south around the circle, while the guy next to me has to get over to the left if he wants to go east on 53rd. There are signs but they're confusing, especially if you're not familiar with that road.

Seriously, most people do not understand what the rules are for circles. Even coming north on Honore in Sarasota, there are a bunch of circles. So I guess they expect everyone to figure out or know who's supposed to yield? I just don't get the logic in doing this.

[gypsychic]

Well the real fun begins when they start construction on it - right during season!

[craigiri]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Well the real fun begins when they start construction on it - right during season!

This cries out for an overpass with a nice pedestrian bridge affixed to it.

I think this is going to happen after 5 years of FAIL.

[d4g4m]

AND they also want a round a bout at 41/Ringling BL/Gulf Stream

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by d4g4m

AND they also want a round a bout at 41/Ringling BL/Gulf Stream

People are gonna start gettin' dizzy - lol!

[Restrain]

In Port Charlotte, they put in roundabouts on Edgewater when they rebuilt it. Since then accidents have skyrocketed. The county says, at least they aren't T-bone wrecks. Putting in roundabouts on 41 is goin to be a nightmare.