Roundabout Design – Making them work for all users and in challenging locations

Roundabouts are an increasing popular form intersection control, with more than 3,000 in the US and more than 130 in North Carolina alone. This Transportation Education Seminar (TES) event will begin with an overview on roundabouts and the various contexts in which they have been built. It will then highlight the differences between roundabouts and other circular intersections, discuss the operational and safety benefits of roundabouts, basic design principles and best practices for single- and multi-lane roundabouts. The rest of the session will focus on detailed design techniques for challenging sites with constrained geometry, numerous driveways, adjacent intersections, or other limitations. The TES will also highlight an area of growing interest in roundabout design, pedestrian and bicycle accommodation. The speed-limiting geometry of roundabouts makes them well-suited for multimodal-focused environments, and there are many case studies of roundabouts that have improved street environments for non-auto users.

Bio: Pete Jenior is a Senior Engineer with Kittelson & Associates, Inc. in Baltimore, MD. Pete has conducted studies of over 75 existing or proposed roundabouts in nine states, including conceptual design, operational analysis, and peer review. Some of these roundabouts have included double lanes, five or more legs, and non-circular designs. Pete has also been involved with the signalization of roundabout crosswalks in Golden, CO and Oakland County, MI, and was a co-researcher for the NCHRP Project 3-78 the main purpose of which was to research crossing solutions for blind and visually impaired pedestrians at roundabouts. Pete also served as lead researcher for NCHRP Project 3-100: Evaluating the Performance of Corridors with Roundabouts. Pete managed KAI’s open-end roundabout contract with Pennsylvania DOT, and serves as an instructor for KAI’s three-day roundabout design workshop, held across the United States. He is a licensed engineer in five states and the District of Columbia.