Transportation officials defended circular intersections known as a roundabouts during a public hearing on Tuesday.
A new bill would give communities opposed to new roundabouts on state and local roads the power to have them changed or not built at all. The manufactured housing industry supports the bill sponsored by Rep. David Craig, R-Big Bend.
Amy Bliss from the Wisconsin Housing Alliance says some of their loads are 16 feet wide and 80 feet long. The trucks carrying houses have trouble getting through certain roundabouts, even though they have a section called an “apron” that acts as an extra lane for large vehicles.
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“I’m not really here to discuss whether local control is good or not,” said Bliss. “But these roundabouts are popping up like dandelions in the springtime and I would like something that would slow them down.”
The Department of Transportation (DOT) says there are 280 roundabouts in the state. The agency opposes the bill, citing concerns about construction delays and cost.
Tom Rhatican, assistant deputy secretary, says transportation studies show roundabouts are safer than traditional intersections: “The crashes that cause injury are significantly reduced by roundabout use.”
A recent DOT study on roundabouts found a 38 percent decrease in injury producing crashes, but a slight increase in fender-benders.
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