Stanford Daily Online: Roundabouts to regulate bike traffic

Students accustomed to racing through White Plaza and the notorious “Intersection of Death” will be slowed by two bicycle roundabouts being installed this summer by the University’s Department of Planning. Two roundabouts are being installed around White Plaza this summer by the University’s Department of Planning in order to help divert the constant flow of traffic.

One will be built at the southern end of Lasuen Mall in front of the clocktower and the other will be at the northern entrance to White Plaza. Two roundabouts are being installed around White Plaza this summer by the University’s Department of Planning in order to help divert the constant flow of traffic. One will be built at the southern end of Lasuen Mall in front of the clocktower and the other will be at the northern entrance to White Plaza.

The roundabouts will help divert traffic flow around two permanent structures at the southern end of Lasuen Mall in front of the clock tower and at the northern entrance to White Plaza. New sidewalks will also be installed to separate pedestrians from the stream of bicycles that pass through one of Stanford’s busiest thoroughfares. “The goal is to slow down students,” said Associate Director of Campus Planning and Design Kathy Blake.

“Right now people go through the intersections full speed ahead, and it can be very dangerous.” According to construction plans for the roundabouts, students will travel counterclockwise around one of the turnarounds and into a two-lane straightaway between the Barnum Center and Building 500 that will direct them into a second roundabout. Ground-painted bike traffic signs are expected to help direct bicyclers through the interchange.

The roundabouts are part of a larger master plan to redesign the center of campus, along with the renovation of Old Union and plans to create more lawn space in White Plaza in order to improve its available space for performance events. Blake said that students, faculty and staff who participated in interviews and workshops identified the locations for the planned roundabouts as a source of major concern given the heavy volume of traffic these areas receive during a normal day.

She also noted that while a trend in bike collisions was not the original impetus for the design concept, anecdotal evidence of reported collisions and nervous pedestrians crossing into the intersections drove calls for the roundabouts. “In transportation planning, bike circles are all over the place and have been very successful,” Blake said, citing similar structures at UC-Davis and other locations.

“It will be interesting to see how the construction will go since we don’t have a culture of bike circles on campus yet.” Last year the Stanford Band constructed a rudimentary roundabout in front of the clock tower to help improve traffic flow. Blake said that while plans for the roundabouts were already being considered, the Band’s efforts helped accelerate the implementation of the project.

Planning officials have also reduced the amount of landscaping inside the circles to make room for student artwork and design concepts after students adorned last year’s makeshift structure with a sculpture and some decorations. While the students with whom Blake spoke welcomed the changes, others worried that the roundabouts might impede traffic flow. “I’ve had some close calls,” Aaron Kofman ‘09 said. “But bikers are capable of navigating the intersection themselves. It seems like everything will slow down and make passing through more difficult.”