Become a Road Scholar in four minutes by watching this entertaining talk! Gary Lauder goes through analysis typical in transportation engineering, in this case looking at delay at intersections. Don’t expect to see his proposed solution any time soon.
Since I’m currently working on some economic analysis and benefit-cost assessments, I paid special attention to this topic in the talk. The savings in delay, gas usage, and crashes far outweigh the potential costs of a more expensive roundabout. True enough, yet the benefits all go to the public, and the costs all go to the agency, meaning the agency doesn’t have the available budget for the best overall solution without an increased investment. I find it hard to believe the public would recognize their personal savings and willingly hand over some of it to the Department of Transportation.
What a great example of the difficulties in choosing the most economically beneficial solution.
