EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) — PennDOT announced in a release Monday that, according to department data, crashes, injuries, and fatalities decreased overall after intersections at 39 locations were replaced with 42 roundabouts throughout the commonwealth.
“PennDOT is continuing its work to identify and implement innovations and best practices across Pennsylvania. I’m proud to see that the data on roundabouts remains consistent on saving lives and reducing crash severity,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll.
In the release, PennDOT explains they reviewed data for 36 six multi-lane and single-lane roundabouts on state routes at intersections that were previously signal-controlled or had stop signs.
The update to the data released in 2022 includes seven additional roundabouts and the intersections were selected based on having at least three years of crash data before and after the roundabouts were installed which accounts for a total of 460 incidents before installation and 250 incidents after installation.
From 2003 through 2022, PennDOT explains department data obtained from police-submitted crash reports and weighed based on the number before and after years, but not for increases in traffic shows crashes involving possible serious injuries were reduced by 24%, while crashes with suspected non-serious injuries were reduced by 51%. The total number, according to PennDOT, was reduced by 3%.
While roundabouts are installed to address safety issues with intersections, PennDOT says they are also added to improve traffic flow or for other reasons such as traffic calming.
Included in the review are seven new roundabouts from the following interactions.
- In Berks County, Route 73 and Lynx Drive.
- In Berks County, Route 73 and Oley Road.
- In Bucks County, Route 4049, also known as Tollgate Road, and Old Bethlehem Pike.
- In Crawford County, Route 6/322 and Route 19/98.
- In Cumberland County, Route 2017, also known as Lisburn Road, and Rossmoyne Road.
- In Luzerne County, Route 2008, also known as Middle Road, and Prospect Street.
- In Wyoming County, Route 1017, also known as College Avenue, and Edwards Lane
Other roundabouts included in the review can be found online.
36 other roundabouts have been built on state routes in addition to the 42 that met the selection criteria, according to PennDOT.
PennDOT explains that although roundabouts are usually more efficient and safer than traditional intersections, they might not always be the best option due to topography or other reasons, like property impacts, capacity issues, and proximity to other intersections.
In an effort to educate members of the commonwealth on roundabouts, PennDOT has an educational video available online.
