Why is the new roundabout at the Hill & Moulder Street corner single-lane, not double- lane?
PEDESTRIAN SAFETY: Keeping pedestrians safe when they cross near roundabouts is a key factor in the single-lane design.
The opening of Orange’s newest roundabout, at the corner of Hill & Moulder Streets, has been welcomed by the community, but it’s also prompted discussion about why the roundabout is a single-lane design rather than double-lane.
The answers are all about safety.
In a setting like the Hill & Moulder intersection, a single lane roundabout has a number of advantages.
It’s safer for pedestrians:
Just one block away from the Aquatic Centre, the Hill-Moulder intersection has a lot of pedestrians. It’s easier and much safer for pedestrians to walk across two single lanes than two double lanes.
It’s safer for drivers:
In a roundabout, there are potential points of conflict where cars, driving through the roundabout, can collide. In a single-lane roundabout there are many less points of conflict. Unless there are specific high-traffic traffic requirements, Council doesn’t generally build two lane roundabouts.
Double lane roundabouts are much bigger:
Building a double-lane roundabout at that intersection in a residential area, would’ve required more space than was available.
It costs local rate-payers less:
The NSW and Australian governments generally don’t fund double-lane roundabouts in residential locations. Double-lane designs are more likely to be funded in high traffic locations.
