Roundabout Coming to Veterans Memorial and Jersey Ridge

Jersey Ridge Road has been under construction almost all summer. When it reopens it will include a roundabout at the corner of Veterans Memorial Parkway.

The city says that one of the general benefits of roundabouts is it keeps the traffic moving. But roundabouts are also safer than traditional intersections. Traffic circles force drivers to slow down and they reduce the risk of right angle, left turn and head on crashes. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety all crashes are reduced by forty percent and injury crashes by eighty percent.

Looking at the City of Davenport's Facebook page, the major concern residents seem to have about this is people learning how a roundabout works:

I think how good you get at driving around a roundabout is how often you have to use one. If you don't do it that often, then expect to be as challenged as Clark Griswold is in "European Vacation." It's also only as good as the signage that tells you which way to go.

We have a roundabout at our apartment complex and my wife pointed out to me I was doing it wrong as I veered the car in the wrong direction around the traffic circle so I could get to the mailboxes. If there was a sign pointing which direction to go, then I probably would have done it right. That said, it's not like the apartment driveway is a major intersection.

If you'd like to learn more about the roundabout at Jersey Ridge Road and Veterans Memorial Parkway here's the City of Davenport's Facebook post: