Date: Wed, 14 Dec 1994 12:48:07 -0500

From: "Peter L. Patrick" PPATRICK[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]GUVAX.BITNET

Subject: Re: Roundabouts and Squares



Addition to Joan's and Tim's comments: In Jamaica where I grew up we

also had roundabouts. I can't speak for Britain, but they were never

square: squares were called "squares". You might have a square space

with a circle in the middle of it which the traffic went around, and

that could be a roundabout, but the traffic path would be circular,

not square. There arre lots of roundabouts in Washington DC, called by

the locals "circles". Unfortunately, people DO tear around them at

freeway speed, and at the one nearest my home (Dupont Circle) I've

seen several accidents and many near-accidents in a year. Folk wisdom

is that it's out-of-towners who (a) don't know where they're going to

begin with, and (b) don't know the rules for driving in them, that are

the cause, and it's probably largely true, but taxis and (some) bike

messengers certainly deserve blame too! Dupont Circle, Scott Circle,

Thomas Circle etc. are lovely, but as either cyclist or pedestrian I

always feel I'm taking my life in my hands when I go through these

"roundabouts"...