[Bonanza]

[QUOTE=Laurie2;1006862]You are right, Walter123. . .
Why did the golf cart cross the road?
To get to the other side.
And without the gates, the odds of that happening would be greatly reduced.
Our gates save lives.[QUOTE]

Our gates don't save lives.
You go through a gate and immediately enter a circle --
a circle that causes many or almost many accidents.

[Bonanza]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

You lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas.

Does that have something to do with this thread???

[Bonanza]

Originally Posted by Walter123

Don't fix it if it ain't broken. It's the people that are broken so no matter what is done, there will still be broken people that don't understand, don't care, shouldn't be driving, etc, etc, etc.

You are correct.
It IS the people.
That is exactly why the circles don't work.
Bulldoze 'em!

[Bonanza]

Originally Posted by Mikeod

You're kidding, right? Yes, the traffic on Morse moves smoothly. But the people waiting at those stop signs to enter Morse below Rio Grande have an awful time trying to get out. At this time of year, Morse is a constant stream of traffic. I've frequently seen solid lines of traffic from the San Marino light south way past the postal station. I've seen backups from the gate at 466 filling both lanes almost back to 466 while the two lanes go through the gate and merge into one lane. And similar lines of cars going south from Rio Grande.

Sure the traffic on Morse flows well, but it's hell for those trying to get onto it from their neighborhoods.

Uhhh . . . no, I'm not kidding.

Those who are waiting at the stop signs aren't waiting that long. When the light changes at Rio Grande is what permits them to get out because that light is what gives them the time for them to move. I've never seen many cars backed up at a stop sign waiting to enter Morse. A few cars, yes. But many cars, no. Very often, there is a lull in the flow of traffic anyway.

Once the light changes, everyone gets through the light. It isn't any different from any other traffic light, even on 441 which is what I call traffic.

The backups at the light at 466 going south are the same thing. When the light changes, all the traffic gets through. No big deal; that's what traffic lights are for.

[tomjbud]

A few days ago, I witnessed a car going the wrong direction through a traffic circle! Luckily, everyone stopped and waited for the person to go through.

[graciegirl]

First it makes me sad when people move here and are not happy, Then it makes me mad when they want to change things.

Traffic, and waiting at restaurants and people clogging the grocery and even the church aisles is always greater or worse during the high season of January, February and March.

The circles are simple. Wait until there is no one in the circle approaching you. Enter in the right lane if you are turning right or going straight. Enter in the left lane if you are turning left. When exiting from the left lane be sure no one is behind you in the right lane. Don't drive NEXT to anyone in a circle. Allow them to get ahead of you, or behind you and watch what they are doing.

Practice in the middle of the night when no one is there.

Remember to drive as if everyone else is a crazy person......because many of them are. Don't honk your horn. PERIOD. It shows you aren't from Ohio.

[LittleDog]

The roundabout that I have the most potential accidents is the one where Stillwater Trail meets Morse Blvd. One time as I was going around the circle a car shot out of the right hand side and proceeded to cut me off. He was heading to the Morse bridge. Because he cut me off I had to go around the circle again just to head north on Morse. Today I was heading north and was signaling for a right turn to head to the bridge. All of a sudden I heard a blast of a car right behind me that I guess cut him off. I don't know where he came from as he wasn't behind me in the circle. He must have entered the circle right behind me and certainly didn't yield for those in the circle. My wife said she also didn't see him. These people coming thru that gate to enter Morse must not realize there is a traffic circle there.

John

[Walter123]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

First it makes me sad when people move here and are not happy, Then it makes me mad when they want to change things.

Traffic, and waiting at restaurants and people clogging the grocery and even the church aisles is always greater or worse during the high season of January, February and March.

The circles are simple. Wait until there is no one in the circle approaching you. Enter in the right lane if you are turning right or going straight. Enter in the left lane if you are turning left. When exiting from the left lane be sure no one is behind you in the right lane. Don't drive NEXT to anyone in a circle. Allow them to get ahead of you, or behind you and watch what they are doing.

Practice in the middle of the night when no one is there.

Remember to drive as if everyone else is a crazy person......because many of them are. Don't honk your horn. PERIOD. It shows you aren't from Ohio.

Correction.....Enter in the left lane (inside lane) if you are going straight or left.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Walter123

Correction.....Enter in the left lane (inside lane) if you are going straight or left.

Is he right???? Somebody show the graphic.

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Is he right???? Somebody show the graphic.

Walter is correct!

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by dbussone

Walter is correct!

Here is shows we both are correct...;Navigating The Villages Roundabouts

From the link above;

"If you intend to travel through the roundabout and continue straight ahead, it can be appropriate to use either lane to enter and travel through the roundabout. The only concern in this case is that you should make sure you stay in the same lane throughout and also be sure to use your turn signal when you are ready to exit. If you are exiting from the inside lane, be careful that there isn’t a vehicle in the outside lane that intends to keep circling. Not everyone is aware of this guideline, so be careful in these situations. "

[Walter123]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Here is shows we both are correct...;Navigating The Villages Roundabouts

From the link above;

"If you intend to travel through the roundabout and continue straight ahead, it can be appropriate to use either lane to enter and travel through the roundabout. The only concern in this case is that you should make sure you stay in the same lane throughout and also be sure to use your turn signal when you are ready to exit. If you are exiting from the inside lane, be careful that there isn’t a vehicle in the outside lane that intends to keep circling. Not everyone is aware of this guideline, so be careful in these situations. "

We are not both correct. You said the left lane is for turning left when it is really for going straight OR turning left. No wonder people get confused.

just saying....We are all wrong sometimes, even you.

[kittygilchrist]

EWhen I first moved here I studied this issue to the depth of talking to local law officers, studied RB design research, got county stats on RB accidents, contrasting the best practice brochure against laws for federal highway markings....and....

1. best practices and what we all tell each other to do in RBs does not match federal highway markings, so newbies do not know we made our own rules

2. Not all RBs are designed with proper impedance of speed by the angle of approach into the circle. Lanes should come in rather head on to the circle for that purpose.

3. Research indicates we have likely saved lives and accidents and experienced accelerated ease of traffic because of RBs.

4. Personally, I approach the thing as if it is normal highway where my job is to yield to what is oncoming, change lanes when I am not going to impede someone, and wait for anybody clueless, without blowing my horn (@GG).

5. Finally, I was almost hit recently and encourage all to be careful in new construction areas. At Morse and Pinellas, of all places, HQ for Public Safety, new traffic is buzzing all 4, all four, directions now, and some people are not used to watching for it. Additionally, traffic coming north on morse is coming Way too fast..

6. Summary: never assume that having the right of way means you get to go first.

[Mikeod]

Originally Posted by Bonanza

Uhhh . . . no, I'm not kidding.

Those who are waiting at the stop signs aren't waiting that long. When the light changes at Rio Grande is what permits them to get out because that light is what gives them the time for them to move. I've never seen many cars backed up at a stop sign waiting to enter Morse. A few cars, yes. But many cars, no. Very often, there is a lull in the flow of traffic anyway.

Once the light changes, everyone gets through the light. It isn't any different from any other traffic light, even on 441 which is what I call traffic.

The backups at the light at 466 going south are the same thing. When the light changes, all the traffic gets through. No big deal; that's what traffic lights are for.

Obviously you missed my point entirely. I agree that traffic flows well on Morse. Yes, all the traffic gets through the lights at Rio Grande and 466. Both those facts result in a steady stream of traffic flowing north and south. It's easy to dismiss the difficulty residents have trying to get onto Morse from those side streets when your interest is how smoothly traffic flows on Morse. If it's so easy to do, why did they have to build a cart bridge so people can get to the Mail station near Carrera Dr.? Because people in that neighborhood couldn't get onto northbound Morse to get their mail during this season.


The point is that the roundabouts you despise perform a valuable function in letting vehicles enter the main roads far more easily than the stop signs you prefer.

[Walter123]

Originally Posted by kittygilchrist

When I first moved here I studied this issue to the depth of talking to local law officers, studied RB design research, got county stats on RB accidents, contrasting the best practice brochure against laws for federal highway markings....and....

1. best practices and what we all tell each other to do in RBs does not match federal highway markings, so newbies do not know we made our own rules

2. Not all RBs are designed with proper impedance of speed by the angle of approach into the circle. Lanes should come in rather head on to the circle for that purpose.

3. Research indicates we have likely saved lives and accidents and experienced accelerated ease of traffic because of RBs.

4. Personally, I approach the thing as if it is normal highway where my job is to yield to what is oncoming, change lanes when I am not going to impede someone, and wait for anybody clueless, without blowing my horn (@GG).

5. Finally, I was almost hit recently and encourage all to be careful in new construction areas. At Morse and Pinellas, of all places, HQ for Public Safety, new traffic is buzzing all 4, all four, directions now, and some people are not used to watching for it. Additionally, somebody forgot to put two lanes in the east side of the RB. Sooooo, we have traffic from three directions and basically crisscrossing ingress and egress across only one lane.

6. Summary: never assume that having the right of way means you get to go first.

Not sure I agree with not using your horn. If it looks like someone is going to hit me I will take evasive action and blow my horn to alert the other driver. My only concern is that if that person is from Ohio they might not know what the sound is and be startled because they don't honk in Ohio.