Safe Transportation Research & Education Center

This project examined the safety and demand issues for pedestrians and bicyclists at multi-lane roundabouts through a literature review, case studies, in-field counts and surveys, focus groups, and video analysis. This document presents research findings, synthesizes current information on best practices, and makes recommendations to assist local agencies planning and designing safer multi-lane roundabouts. These findings should help local agencies and Caltrans create roundabouts that better and more safely address the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians. The current literature is referred to throughout the document to augment the research team’s findings, especially for issues that were beyond the scope of this project. Key findings in the areas of pedestrian and bicyclist avoidance of, behavior around, and collisions at multi-lane roundabouts are presented along with recommendations for geometric design, design speed, sight distance, width of lanes, signage and pavement markings, and operational recommendations.