Burlington Roundabout Cure for Signalized Intersection Highway Deaths

Burlington Intersection Death List...Our Recent History of Fatal and Serious Injuries...Now Modern Roundabouts Cut Fatal/Serious Injury by About 90 Percent 

The National Picture of Highway Safety

About 9,000 fatals--23% of the over 40,000 annual highway deaths--occur at or near intersections.  Half of all senior driver and pedestrian deaths involve intersections.  For every U.S. fatality there are about seven disabling injuries.  In 2003 U.S. pedestrian deaths and disabling injuries, included in the US highway totals, amount to 20,700 and bicyclists numbers were 6,600.  Unfortunately since 2010 US pedestrian deaths are up 45% nationally.  Once 1st in highway safety in 1990, the U.S. has fallen to 18th.  Based on highway miles driven we now have over 23,000 excess deaths compared to the performance of the top four nations—U.K. (co-leader with us in 1990), Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.   In a recent year highway crashes were the highest cause of death for those aged 4 to 34.  

The Vermont Highway, Gun, Opioid Deaths Data

Current U.S. longevity decline, the only one among advanced nations, coincides with the extremely high rates and numbers of highway, gun and opioid deaths:  over 40,000 highway deaths (2018), 39,800 gun deaths (2017), and 70,000 opioid deaths (2017-2018 average).  Vermont death numbers are 69 highway (2017-2018 average); gun 78 (2016); and opioid 109 (2018).  (Alcohol addiction remains far and above these three causes of death in U.S.)  For highway safety, returning Vermont and the nation to number one would halve Vermont highway fatalities, a reduction of about 35 a year.  Adopting neighbor Massachusetts gun regulation, lowest in nation in gun deaths, would reduce our gun deaths up to two-thirds, about 40 less deaths per year.  Certainly opioid reduction efforts can very likely attain a 50% reduction or 55 deaths a year.  Overall the estimated potential reduction in highway/gun/opioid deaths totals 130 a year.  All three areas require equal, aggressive governmental attention at the local, state and federal levels.  

First and foremost in regard to highway safety the United States and each state—Vermont can take this action now—must undertake a “systematic safety” plan and program, a comprehensive planning and implementation plan which led several advanced nations past the U.S. in highway safety performance and even in many cases continues to widen the gap with the United State.  The local equivalent of “systematic safety” can take the form of a strong “Vision Zero” initiative but to this time Vision Zero initiatives have been at most halfway measures. 

The Burlington Picture of Highway Safety

The Burlington roadway deaths and injuries show a need to address pedestrian and bicycle carnage because these latter two modes not only are more prevalent in urban areas but because there are strong currents to expand these “active transportation modes” for health and environmental reasons.  In addition to safety as the first and overriding concern, consideration of global warming, air quality, and resource constraints are now recognized as a given in transportation investments decision making. 

Burlington clearly is not immune to deaths and injuries at our intersections.  Burlington recently averaged 150 roadway injuries yearly including a pedestrian and car passenger fatality in the 2014-2018 period.  About a third of annual injuries, about 50, comprised those on foot or bicycle in roughly equal proportions.  Most pedestrian injuries occur at intersections.  Two of the three pedestrian fatalities in Burlington dating from 1998 were at a signalized intersection as was the one cyclist fatality.  A survey taken as part of the PlanBTV Walk Bike adopted in 2017 found (2011-2015) found 17 intersections (“the dirty 17”), mostly signalized, averaging one injury a year—again including a pedestrian fatality in the survey period.  Burlington has three of the highest current Vermont Agency of Transportation (VAOT) crash intersections in Vermont—Colchester/Barrett/Riverside US 7 (#1); Main/S. Prospect US 2 (#16); and Pearl/ N. Willard US 7 (#27).  The only reason the Burlington intersection Shelburne/Locust/S. Willard/St. Paul is no longer on the list is because it is set for construction as a roundabout.   

Burlington from 1998 through 2018 recorded seven road fatalities, about one every three years.   All but one of the seven occurred at a signalized intersection: three car occupants (two drivers and a passenger); three pedestrians; and one bicyclist.  With 150 injuries a year in a five year survey period, it fair to conclude that about one fatality occurs here for about every 450 injuries.  Again, six of seven fatalities occurred at one of the City's approximately 75 traffic signal intersections.  Finally, it is the pedestrian and bicyclist who suffers disproportionately when it comes to fatalities versus the car occupant who retains the protections of a motor vehicle—while pedestrian and cyclist injuries in Burlington are one third of all injuries, when it comes to fatalities they are the majority, four of seven.   

The Modern Roundabout Cure

The modern roundabout, the 53 year-old powerful technology composed of stone age materials, cuts about 90 percent of fatalities and serious injuries as well as injury severity  (Insurance Institute for High Safety [2000]).

Below find added information on Burlington fatal crashes at intersections, only some of the recent fatalities statewide and a small fraction of critical injuries at Vermont intersections.  The signalized intersections appear good candidates for roundabouts. Vermont passed the first US state legislation in 2002 calling for a transportation department to aggressively pursue installing roundabouts at dangerous intersections. 

Roundabouts in downtowns and village centers in Vermont are a proven safety treatment.  The five Vermont downtown roundabouts (Manchester Center, Middelbury and Montpelier) in their first 52 years of performance recorded zero bicycle injuries, one pedestrian suffering bumps and bruises and four minor car occupant injuries—one injury (none serious) a decade.

Several jurisdictions—states, Canadian provinces, counties and cities—have adopted “roundabouts first” policies.  NY State Department of Transportation is certainly the most prominent with its “roundabouts first policy” in place since 2005.  

In a 2011 report, AAA called for a White House Conference of all interests and adoption there of a “zero fatality rate” goal on the nation's highways.  That AAA study done by the reputable Cambridge Systematics found highway fatality and injury social costs twice the cost of congestion in all but the smallest metropolitan areas—and higher in all metro areas.  The Federal Highway Administration uses a highway fatality social cost as $6.1 million and an injury $126,000 (2009 dollars).  

Burlington Intersection Death List  1998-2018

Linda Ente, 48, Winooski (Home Avenue/Shelburne Road, signalized).  Pedestrian killed in car crash (1998).  Employed at adjacent supermarket. 

Charles Burch, 72, Burlington (Manhattan Drive/VT 127, signalized).  Bicyclist killed in car crash (2004).

Raymond Herbert, 23, Vergennes (Main Street/Spear Street, signalized).  Driver killed in two vehicle crash (2005).

Kaye Borneman, 43, Burlington (Main Street/St. Paul Street, signalized) Driver killed in two vehicle T-bone crash (2010). 

Bruce Lapointe, 63, Winooski (Colchester Avenue/Barrett Street/Riverside Avenue, signalized).  Pedestrian killed on motor vehicle crash on crosswalk (2012). 

Lul Ali Gure, 29, Burlington (Home Avenue/Shelburne Road, signalized).  Car occupant killed in two car crash (2018). 

Jonathan Jerome, 61, Winooski (North Avenue/Poirier Place, sign control).  Pedestrian killed crossing North Avenue in a car crash (2018).

Tony Redington

Safe Streets Burlington   

TonyRVT99@gmail.com September 9, 2019

The Way Ahead to Modern, Safe, Streets--AAA, AARP and CROW

THE WAY AHEAD TO MODERN, SAFE STREETS—AAA, AARP AND CROW

     …or tackling our poor highway safety performance now costing 15,000 fatalities a year compared to the safety rates leading nations like England, Norway and Sweden

Alert!  U.S. streets unsafe for all who walk, bike and travel by car!  With twice the fatality rate per vehicle mile of England, Sweden and Norway more than 15,000 die in the U.S. from poor safety performance.   Once first in highway safety, the U.S. now ranks 15^th (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development).

In different ways, sets of letters reflect policies and street designs the United States must adopt if we are to decrease the truly gruesome results of trying to get from here to there by foot, bicycle and car on our streets and highways—particularly for walking and bicycling modes increasingly in demand and growing as the historic carcentricity era slowly recedes into history following an undeserved overwhelming dominance for more than a century.

Ironically, car drivers complain about bicyclists and walkers clogging urban streets while they themselves and their passengers die at an alarming rate!  Moreover, the changes in safety infrastructure addressing walk and bike safety—cycle track and roundabouts—directly reduce car occupant carnage too.  Decision makers call this “win win.” 

AAA   AAA (the American Automobile Association) truly gets it as the leading representative of auto interests for decades.  Their recent study found the costs of vehicle accidents in large metropolitan areas were twice the cost of congestion and even in small metros were far higher than congestion costs.  AAA simply calls for a White House Safety Summit and for that Summit to adopt a “0 Fatality Rate” policy and put the nation to work on highway safety in an effective way.

AARP   With the U.S. in just a few decades experiencing an increase of their senior population growing from 10 to 20 percent, the American Association of Retired Persons, AARP, developed policies of interest to the older generation and when it comes to transportation “livable streets” and safe streets lead their policies.   Seniors drive less and walk and, potentially, bike more.  But obviously unsafe urban streets, AARP became a leader in the “complete streets” movement which in most cases means at least a recognition of the problem and minimal treatments to address the needs of the walk an bike modes.  Still, AARP does take the unusual step of touting and strongly supporting intersection safety, particularly replacing traffic signals with modern roundabouts.  Half of all senior driver deaths on American roads occur at intersections compared to less than a quarter of all fatalities—and roundabouts cut serious injuries and fatalities for car occupants and walkers as well as providing improved safety for cyclists.  Seniors lack one physical element important for their safety, a decreased ability to judge approach speeds so important to merging and intersection entry decisions, a problem cured by the lower speeds and reduced conflicts afforded by the roundabout.

CROW  The CROW  “manual clusters all the knowledge about road safety in the Netherlands”  and the aptly titled CROW “design manual for bicycle traffic”, already popular in England, is quickly becoming the design guide of choice for street cycle design in the United States.  The CROW bicycle design manual is critically important as it contains the design for urban and rural roundabout designs with pathing for cyclists which cyclists identify as the safest type of intersection.  The Dutch design manuals only include single lane roundabouts—if more than a one lane roundabout is required then bike and vehicle modes are separated, far easier in a nation with no hills and valleys than the typical American landscape.  Still a Swedish study does show that properly designed there is a safety gain for cyclists at a two-lane roundabout over a traffic signal—and less delay and other benefits.

These three sets of letters show some of the ways the United States need to go to bring safety to our streets for all modes.  The French, for example, may have the best comprehensive highway safety programming in a nation with the highest number of roundabouts in the world.  In 1970 France had a third higher rate of fatalities per vehicle mile  than the U.S. but today their rate is a third less than the U.S.  If the U.S. could attain the French highway fatality rate, 5,000 less Americans would die each year on the streets and highways.  It is all about safe streets.