Roundabouts

The City of Hilliard opened its first roundabout in 2006 at the intersection of Hayden Run Road and Britton Parkway. Fifteen years later, we have 15 roundabouts and more to come that are in the planning or design stages.

Why Roundabouts?

Safety is our highest priority, and roundabouts are a safer intersection solution than traffic signals or traditional unsignalized intersections. Because of the slower vehicle speeds, the chance of a fatal or serious injury crash at a roundabout is very small.  At two-way stop controlled or signalized intersections, speeds are much higher; the T-bone crashes that are common at these types of intersections can be devastating, sending many drivers to the hospital.

Safety translates to pedestrians at roundabouts too.  Vehicle speeds at the crosswalks are typically under 25 mph, and lower vehicle speeds are the #1 factor in pedestrian safety. In the fifteen years since we have opened our first roundabout, there have been no crashes involving pedestrians at any of our roundabouts.

Simply put, roundabouts save lives.

The Roundabout Rules

While single lane roundabouts are easy to navigate, we understand that multi-lane roundabouts may be confusing.  The City of Hilliard is committed to helping drivers understand the rules of the road at roundabouts.  In 2019, the City of Hilliard kicked off its “#RoundaboutRules” campaign to teach and reinforce two key rules to navigating multi-lane roundabouts.  Check out this video that explains the #RoundaboutRules.

Roundabout info flyer

There are two key rules to navigating multilane roundabouts:

Check the signs & choose the correct lane. Similar to a traditional intersection, check the signs and road markings to choose the correct lane before you enter a roundabout.  Typically, the right lane is for through movements and right turns, and the left lane is for through movements and left turns.  But each roundabout may be different, so check the signs.  Maintain your lane.  You should not switch to the outside lane to “exit” the roundabout.

Yield to both lanes. The traffic inside the roundabout has the right-of-way, so make sure you yield to both lanes before entering.  A roundabout entry is not the same as a freeway entry, so resist the urge to merge.

Remember at all Roundabouts

  • Slow down
  • Yield to pedestrians and bicyclists in the crosswalks
  • Look left; circulate counterclockwise
  • And follow the #roundaboutrules

Professor Roundabout is always on the lookout for drivers that disobey the roundabout rules.  Don’t be one of them!

The City of Hilliard partnered with the Ohio Department of Transportation to develop these educational resources for use in the Driver’s Education curriculum guide.  These videos explain how to navigate various types of roundabouts that you might encounter in Hilliard and throughout the State of Ohio.

Roundabouts in Hilliard

The Roundabout Rules

Between 2019 and 2021, the City of Hilliard completed a series of modifications at several roundabouts to reduce the frequency of fender-bender crashes and reduce vehicle speeds.  The changes made are summarized below

  • Main St/Cemetery Rd roundabout:
    • Changed signs & marking to clarify & simplify information for drivers
    • Added raised crosswalks to lower vehicle speeds
  • Main St/Scioto Darby Rd roundabout:
    • Re-shaped the central island to reduce failure to yield crashes between northbound entering vehicles and eastbound exiting vehicles
    • Added raised crosswalks to lower vehicle speeds
  • Cemetery Rd/Scioto Darby Rd traffic signal
    • Turned on the signal to divert more traffic to the “hypotenuse” of the triangle, which reduces vehicle queues during peak periods on northbound Main Street (particularly in the morning school peak) and westbound Cemetery Road (particularly in the afternoon peak)
  • Britton Pkwy/Riggins Rd roundabout
    • Changed signs & marking to clarify & simplify information for drivers
    • Converted the eastbound and westbound entries to single lane by making the right lanes right-turn only
  • Britton Pkwy/Davidson Rd roundabout
    • Changed signs & marking to clarify & simplify information for drivers
    • Eliminated the left turn from the westbound right lane to be more consistent with other roundabouts
  • Britton Pkwy/Anson Dr roundabout
    • Changed signs & marking to clarify & simplify information for drivers
    • Converted the eastbound entry to single lane by making the right lane right-turn only

These changes have been successful at reducing the number of crashes at these roundabouts.  There has been a significant drop in crashes at these roundabouts.  The graph below shows the number of crashes at each Hilliard roundabout between January 2015 – December 2021.  Each of the roundabouts that we modified show a reduction in crashes following these modifications.

In the future, the City will be focusing on building more roundabouts with single lane entries because single lane roundabouts are simpler for drivers to navigate and experience much fewer crashes than roundabouts with two-lane entries all legs of the intersection.

The City of Hilliard is committed to making our streets safer, especially for people who walk and bike, and roundabouts are an important tool that is used to accomplish this because roundabouts lower vehicle speeds at intersections and reduce the severity of crashes.

Do you have questions? Please contact us!

Community Development