Summerlin going in circles over traffic

Diana Sahagun

Friday, March 3, 2000 | 10:12 a.m.

On any afternoon inside Summerlin, traffic looks a lot like a dog chasing its tail.

The giant traffic circles that funnel cars through intersections inside the development have some residents feeling like they're in the middle of an ongoing orbit.

On Wednesday evening residents were blaring their horns, hands clenched on their steering wheels, waiting anxiously to take a turn around the giant Ferris wheel known as a traffic circle.

"It's like a giant slingshot," said Travis Farris, after taking a turn around the circle and landing later at his driveway. "Sometimes I get in there, and pray I'll make it out the other side."

Lucky for North Las Vegas, it won't see any traffic circles soon.

Instead the Nevada Department of Transportation is proposing three traffic "roundabouts" on Carey Avenue -- scaled down versions of the Summerlin frenzy.

Representatives from the NDOT and the city will hold a public hearing at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the North Las Vegas Library to discuss the roundabouts proposed for three locations on Carey Avenue: Belmont, Revere and Hamilton streets.

The roundabouts are similar to the traffic circles at Summerlin, but smaller and designed for traffic traveling at slower speeds, said Jay Vansickle, project coordinator for NDOT.

According to the NDOT, the roundabouts' purpose is to reduce the frequency and severity of angle and left-turn crashes occurring at these intersections. Roundabouts in other parts of the United States have achieved 50 percent to 90 percent reductions in the frequency of crashes, according to the NDOT.

"I don't care if they're smaller, or bigger," Summerlin resident Courtney Delores said. "Half the time I can't even figure out where to go, and I sit on the inside (of the circle) and just wait. I'd rather see a traffic light."

While some states have been phasing out their traffic circle, cities in Colorado, Maryland, California, Florida and Vermont are putting them into service, deeming them a safer alternative to traditional four-cornered intersections.

In principle, motorists approaching roundabouts are supposed to slow down and yield to traffic, then enter and proceed counterclockwise, exiting when they arrive at their intended route.

Summerlin resident John Christensen admits he was confused when he first encountered the traffic circle, but he said driving through them has become like second nature.

"It's just a loopty-loop, and then you're there," he said.