Two Projects Moving Forward on 4th Street!
November 29, 2011 at 9:35 am | Posted in Bike News, Get Involved | 6 CommentsThe 4th Street Bicycle Blvd. will be another step closer to reality as two mini-roundabouts are projected for installation on 4th Street by the summer of 2012. One will be located at 4th Street and Norton, the other will be at 4th Street and New Hampshire. Recent meetings with the Windsor Square Homeowner’s Association and the Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council resulted in support for the mini-roundabouts. LACBC is reaching out to the community through additional local organizations in an effort to further build support for the roundabouts and 4th Street as a whole. We’ve had a roundabout at 4th and New Hampshire in mind for a long time and LADOT chose the two locations because they are the intersections of “Bicycle Friendly Streets” in the LA Bike Plan. Each mini-roundabout will benefit two “Bicycle Friendly Streets” since 4th, Norton, and New Hampshire are all designated BFSs.
Photo of 4th and New Hampshire as it looks now
Rendering of how it could look, by Joe Linton
Mini-roundabouts will improve the safety of everyone passing through the two intersections. They will slow motor vehicle traffic, reduce the potential for collisions, and will enable people on bicycles to maintain forward momentum since the roundabouts will be 4-way yield instead of 4-way stop. You can read more about mini-roundabouts thanks to a recent blog post by Richard Risemberg here, and there’s additional information on the FHWA website here.
LADOT rendering for 4th and Norton
The 4th Street Bicycle Blvd. campaign calls for multiple improvements on 4th Street and the roundabouts are two steps in the right direction. We’re working to build additional support for the roundabouts to help ensure implementation and that the roundabouts include attractive, appropriate landscaping.
There’s plenty more to do on 4th Street to make it a neighborhood greenway that will benefit people on bicycles, people who walk, and people who live in the area. If you’d like to get involved, please contact Colin Bogart at colin@la-bike.org.
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Love IT! Here is a conceptual rendering I did last year of a roundabout at this intersection: http://aarline.info/images/4SBB_NewHampshire_AaronKuehn_AARLINE.jpg
part of a set of 4SBB concept renders: http://issuu.com/aarline/docs/4sbb-draft_1/3
Comment by Aaron Kuehn— November 29, 2011 #
Nice, but…I’d say the roundabout in the rendering is not quite wide enough, unless combined with curb bulbouts. Your more arrogant drivers will take great joy in swerving round it at speed, since the deviation it imposes appears to be pretty small.
Remember, if people were nice, you wouldn’t need traffic control devices at all.
It’s our whacked-out human psychology. Cars are private space, so people in them feel that they really do “own” the road they squat over, though that road is public space. That’s why they see all others as “intruders.”
Physical traffic control devices–such as narrow lanes, roundabouts, etc.–serve to induce civil behavior without reference to civil sentiments. (Signs work only when back up by cops.) But a too-small roundabout will simply be a challenge to a motorist, not a restraint.
Comment by Rick Risemberg— November 29, 2011 #
[...] Alex de Cordoba writes for HuffPo on why more driver’s license checkpoints are needed. Two roundabout projects are moving forward on 4th Street. Practical bikes call for more practical racks; I’m just happy to find any usable [...]
Pingback by Catching up on the latest bike news — fighting for an Expo Bike Center, and a new Dutch bike site « BikingInLA— December 1, 2011 #
Here’s an article about modern roundabouts that was published recently in the Economist. More good info about roundabouts…
http://www.economist.com/node/21538779?frsc=dg%7Ca
Comment by Colin Bogart— December 2, 2011 #
[...] to build support for the round-about at 4th and Norton. See more information on this project here – including a rendering of how it looks. LACBC Sunday Funday Larchmont Holiday Ride Sunday, [...]
Pingback by Larchmont Village Holiday Bike Ride Courtesy of LACBC | Larchmont Buzz— December 4, 2011 #
we really need a round about on highland and 4th, or put a crosswalk at the least
Comment by treshaun— November 11, 2012 #