Roundabouts may challenge those new to campus driving
Parents and guardians who are new to driving on the Stanford campus and may be planning to drop off their sons and daughters this fall are encouraged to visit a university website that explains how to drive through roundabouts.
The university currently has five roundabouts located at key intersections on Campus Drive East and West, the latest at Campus Drive East at Serra Street.
Since 2014, the university has been installing roundabouts to improve safety for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists where the three converge in busy intersections. Roundabouts are located on Campus Drive where it intersects with Galvez Street, Escondido Road, Santa Teresa Street and Bowdoin Street.
Initial traffic studies suggest that the roundabouts are increasing safety, especially at Escondido and Campus Drive, which is an especially trafficked intersection. Roundabouts work because they slow traffic down, limit the potential points of conflict and reduce the number of directions a driver or cyclist needs to look before proceeding.
It generally takes drivers two or three times through a roundabout to get the hang of it, which is why the university hopes parents and guardians who have yet to drive on campus visit a website describing how roundabouts work. The website includes several how-to-videos with tips for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. The most important thing to remember: the vehicle in the circle has the right of way, and vehicles entering need to yield.
Read more on the Stanford Report website.
