It appears the learning curve has paid off with the traffic circle in the city of Warren. Despite plenty of opposition and concern for the project in 2023, motorists are taking the roundabout in stride, according to our poll last week.

In our question, “Are you comfortable with the Warren roundabout?” more than 71% answered yes and about 29% said no. Those results are in line with what state officials believe.

“For us, it’s simple. Roundabouts remove cross-traffic turns and eliminate T-bone crashes, while improving traffic flow” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “Any design that dramatically reduces the most serious crashes we see on the road is worthy of consideration in our projects.”

PennDOT finalized a data review through 2024 using 20 years of crash data from roundabouts around the state. Study findings showed that crashes with injuries were reduced by 51% and total crashes decreased by 7%. Pennsylvania data reflects national studies that found changing two-way sign-controlled intersections to a single-lane roundabout reduced injury crashes by more than 80%. Likewise, changing a signalized intersection to single-lane or multilane roundabout reduced crashes with injuries by up to 78%.

In a recent press release, PennDOT noted that even the Federal Highway Administration lists roundabouts as a “proven safety countermeasure” that reduces vehicle speeds by angling incoming traffic. Crashes that do occur tend to be sideswipe crashes with vehicles traveling at slower speeds rather than T-bone or head-on collisions, resulting in fewer injuries.

Those numbers — not poll results — are what matter most.

This week’s poll question: Do you think gas prices will drop below $4 per gallon before the end of summer?