> In the poll, I voted for the traffic circle as the best thing, but I now have to think again about that choice. It is a very efficient way to get people through intersections with a minimal expense, which definitely makes it appealing, but I hadn't thought about the fact that a traffic circle would dramatically slow down through traffic, and (assuming 90-degree intersection of two roads) require stright-through traffic to all move into the left lane before the traffic circle in order to be able to continue. This is not a good combination.
>

And you haven't seen Montreal's L'Acadie (LACK-uh-dee) circle, at the intersection of Acadie boulevard and highway 40. They've mercifully destroyed it and rebuilt it as an elevated intersection with left- and right-turn bypasses and a straight underpass for the highway service road. Before that, it was a three-lane circle, with traffic lights in every direction, at maybe the busiest intersection in the city. Oh, what fun to be driving down a main street and miss three (!) lights trying to get through the circle. It created more traffic than a border crossing, and it was commonly feared by student drivers - Jebus help you if you had one of them in front of you in the middle lane.

I wish I could find a photo of it somewhere.

^v^:)^v^
FB