By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
Vine Street has experienced fewer auto accidents after its traffic lights were replaced with roundabouts in 2021, according to a city of Hays official.
Construction for the new roundabout at 27th and Canterbury is expected to be finished either during or prior to the week of July 17.
Director of Public Works, Jesse Rohr, said the roundabout will provide drivers with a better traffic flow during its busiest times during the morning and after school.
Vine Street has not only seen a decrease in wait time for intersections but accidents with the implementation of five traffic circles on Vine, Rohr said.
“If you exclude data from the north roundabout at 41st and Vine Street (since that intersection didn’t exist prior), the number of accidents has decreased along the remaining project corridor,” Rohr said.
The intersection at 41st didn’t exist before the construction of roundabouts on Vine Street.
The roundabout project has had significant changes to the flow of traffic, pedestrian accessibility and ease of access to the frontage roads that run parallel to Vine Street, Rohr said.
“There have been accidents, but due to the slower speed and traffic flow pattern within a roundabout, the severity of those accidents has been significantly less than accidents occurring prior to the project,” Rohr said.
Excluding the roundabout at 41st and Vine, the annual average of accidents was 27 per year. That number decreased to 24 in 2022 after the traffic circles were constructed.
Rohr has no concerns for tourists passing through the roundabouts in Hays. He said he believes it should be intuitive to drivers who follow the pavement markings and signs at the road junction.
“While there may be a learning curve for anyone traveling to new areas, roundabouts are becoming very popular in many areas and most travelers will experience them at some point," he said.
Considering the roundabout on 27th and Canterbury is near Hays High, Rohr said he isn’t worried about the new drivers of Hays either.
“Roundabouts are now a part of driver training, and it seems the new drivers find them very easy to navigate," Rohr said. “I can vouch for this, as my own teenage daughter has no issues navigating the roundabouts and found the learning curve to be very easy when first experiencing them.”