Sarasota News Leader

02/21/2014

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On Thursday, Feb. 27, at 5:30 p.m., the City of Sarasota will host a public meeting about roundabouts and their benefits in an urban location, the city has announced. The event will be held at the City Hall Annex/ SRQ Media Studio, located at 1565 First St. in downtown Sarasota. It will include the review of a concept of a roundabout at Ringling Boulevard and U.S. 41, a news release says. "An interactive discussion that involves our citizens at the very beginning of the process is vital for the development of proposed round- abouts," said City Engineer Alex DavisShaw in the release. "Studies conducted in the United States have shown that roundabouts have better safety records than intersections with traffic sig- nals," the release continues. "The design of a roundabout eliminates severe collisions caused by red light runners and also compels drivers to slow down, giving them additional time to react," the release adds. "Roundabouts promote a continuous, circular flow of traffic and reduce pollution as well as fuel usage," the release says. With no traffic signal equipment to install or maintain, cities also save money through the use of roundabouts, the release notes. In addition, pedestrians have to cross in front of only one direction of traffic at a time at each roundabout approach, "with a safe harbor to pause in a median, which is not the case with signalized intersections," the release adds. The roundabout at Pineapple Avenue and Ringling Boulevard is the most recent one completed in the city of Sarasota. It was finished in June 2012. Photo by Norman Schimmel PUBLIC MEETING TO BE HELD ON ROUNDABOUTS ON FEB. 27 NEWS BRIEFS

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