Urban compact roundabouts

Like mini-roundabouts, urban compact roundabouts are intended to be pedestrian and bicyclist-friendly because their perpendicular approach legs require very low vehicle speeds to make a distinct right turn into and out of the circulatory roadway. All legs have single-lane entries. However, the urban compact treatment meets all the design requirements of effective roundabouts. The principal objective of this design is to enable pedestrians to have safe and effective use of the intersection. Capacity should not be a critical issue for this type of roundabout to be considered. The geometric design includes raised splitter islands that incorporate at-grade pedestrian storage areas, and a nonmountable central island. There is usually an apron surrounding the nonmountable part of the compact central island to accommodate large vehicles. The recommended design of these roundabouts is similar to those in Germany and other northern European countries. Exhibit 1-9 provides an example of a typical urban compact roundabout.