Selfishly, I hope it’s Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
The race build the first Dutch-style junction in the United States is over. With installations in both College Station, Texas and Davis, California (with both awkwardly claiming to be the first), it’s now a race to construct the first Dutch-style roundabout in the USA. Dutch-style roundabouts have one key advantage over Dutch-style junctions in that the movement of pedestrians and cyclists is never completely halted (assuming a tram line doesn’t run through the intersection):
There are literally thousands of suitable candidate locations across the US, but I would argue Wisconsin possesses more than most. Wisconsin has more roundabouts than any other state which is impressive considering Wisconsin’s modest land area and population. According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT), there are currently 602 roundabouts in the state, with 290 on local roads and 312 on state highways. Like with any construction project, there has been considerable dissent in places where these have been implemented, but at the end of the day there are key advantages of roundabouts over traditional intersections: they reduce crashes, severity of crashes, injuries, and deaths. They conserve fuel, reduce emissions, and facilitate overall faster movement of traffic.
But we can still do a better.
A traditional United States’ roundabout might look something like this:
Whereas the Dutch-style roundabout looks like this:
Here, pedestrians, cyclists, and automobile drivers are all separated with their own dedicated infrastructure, and cyclists and pedestrians have the right of way. This design is superior to traditional US roundabouts because it has appropriate “street hierarchy.”
While it’s always easier to incorporate robust urban design into new construction rather than retrofitting old infrastructure, Wisconsin’s present roundabouts are not terribly off-the-mark. In fact, in many cases the bulk of the infrastructure could remain in tact, requiring only modest changes.
Candidates in Eau Claire
Here, I’m going to suggest two places where a Dutch-style roundabout could be implemented in my city: Eau Claire, Wisconsin. I’m suggesting these due to my experience cycling in these locations, perceived shortcomings in current design, and potential for value capture at the proposed locations.
Location 1: Intersection of State Street and Hamilton Avenue
Photograph by author
Both State Street and Hamilton Avenue at these locations are roads (rather than streets) and are commonly used thoroughfares for drivers. This is a mostly residential area with several proximate churches. I’ve had several close calls with vehicles at this location on my bike, and separating transportation modes would make sense here.
There are already bike lanes on all four roads feeding into this roundabout, which is a major advantage. Curiously, however, these bike lanes disappear near the roundabout where cyclists are forced into traffic with automobiles. The sidewalks could be connected in a circular pattern around the roundabout, and the space between could be used for cyclists. Of course, this would necessitate taking additional land from the four property owners adjacent to this roundabout (two residences to the North and two churches to the South).
Location 2: Intersection of North Dewey Street and Galloway Street
Photograph by author
This location is quite a bit different from the previous in terms of land use (mostly commercial) and current infrastructure (it’s an intersection with a stop sign), but this is a notorious location for cyclists that also sees substantial cycling volume. The Chippewa River State Trail runs through this location with cyclists routinely crossing Dewey Street east-west.
This is terrifying as a cyclist for several reasons: (1) the tree at the southwest corner of the intersection blocks the view of vehicles turning right onto Dewey street from the West; (2) drivers turning right onto Galloway Street from the South often block the bike path to be able to see oncoming traffic effectively, and (3) drivers turning left onto Dewey Street from the East often do so quickly and may not see cyclists until they actually turned. Really, this is just scratching the surface of problems for cyclists here, but the solution is not to cut down trees.
A Dutch-style roundabout, with proper signage, would solve all of these problems, but placed here it would be a significant departure from where these are typically used. Location 1, mentioned previously, is more characteristic of where they are typically seen. This should not be seen as negative, however. The commercial properties at this intersection are several quintessential local businesses: (1) Volume One and the Local Store and (2) The Oxbow Hotel and the attached Lakely bar/restaurant. Besides, what would be more local than implementing a forward-thinking urban design in a uniquely Eau Claire-esque way?
The Oxbow; source: Visit Eau Claire
The Local Store; source: The Local Store
A Dutch-style roundabout here would (a) slow down traffic, (b) force cyclists traveling east-to-west to circumvent the roundabout to the right along Dewey Street, directly in front of both the Local Store and the Lakely, and (c) facilitate movement across Galloway Street much easier for those on foot and bike. All three of these would be great for increasing visibility and foot traffic, ultimately increasing revenue. Further, while there is not currently a bike lane on any of these roads, they wouldn’t really be needed; Dewey Street to the North is a low-traffic road, and cyclists traveling the other directions (east, west, and south) can safety do so through the trail system.
Conclusion
While I believe these are great candidate locations for the first Dutch Style Roundabouts in the USA, I prefer the bias for action mindset for smart urban design. There are plenty of other locations in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and the US as whole that would work fine, and truthfully, I’d like to see this implemented anywhere, rather than obsessing about the most perfect location to implement a Dutch style roundabout. Yeah, yeah, state DOTs have guidelines and this design doesn’t fit into that, and blah, blah, blah. But consider this: there is an American flag on the moon. If we can put that up there, we can figure out how to put Dutch style roundabouts down here. On that note, it would be even better to see state (or federal) DOTs mandate this design for new construction!