Episode 193
[FOCUS] Roundabouts
Episode Summary: This is a segment from a past episode on Roundabouts.
Roundabouts have proven benefits but are not widely used globally
Leekei and Olabanji are wondering why the usage of roundabouts around the world remains relatively limited despite the proven benefits they offer in terms of reducing carbon emissions, facilitating smoother traffic flow, and minimizing energy usage during commuting.
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Featuring Carbon Almanac Contributors Olabanji Stephen and Leekei Tang
Olabanji is from Lagos Nigeria, he’s a Creative Director and visual designer that helps brands gain clarity, deliver meaningful experiences and build tribes through Design & Strategy. He founded Jorney - a community designed to help people stay productive, accountable, and do their best work.
Leekei is a fashion business founder, a business coach, an international development expert and podcaster from Paris, France.
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The CarbonSessions Podcast is produced and edited by Leekei Tang, Steve Heatherington and Rob Slater.
Transcript
and actually roundabouts
are everywhere in France.
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:When you drive around in
France, there's everywhere.
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:And I think , the roundabouts
are in the carbon oar, right?
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:Yeah.
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:I mean, they are.
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:And in the, the carbon OAC
states that roundabouts actually
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:help us lower carbon emissions.
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:In the most interesting way,
and it probably has the most
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:mind-blowing statistics.
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:I mean, I couldn't have imagined that,
that the roundabouts are that effective.
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:Ooh, tell us.
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:Yeah.
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:so I mean, based on the study done in
Virginia, um, Mike McBride, the former
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:city engineer of, of Carmel, Indiana, he
estimates that one roundabout in his city.
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:Uh, in a city of about a hundred
thousand people saves seven to
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:5,708 liters of gas annually.
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:that's, that's a lot.
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:How much is that?
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:That is a lot.
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:Uh, and, and I mean, think about
it, they, they say that there's a
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:study that was also done in 2005.
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:Roundabouts would actually
save about 981 million hours.
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:Of driving and fuel consumption
by over 2 billion liters.
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:If all, wow.
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:Yeah.
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:If just 10% of the intersections
in the United States with, with
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:traffic lights were converted to
roundabouts, that's the amount of
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:energy and time that will be saved.
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:About 2 billion liters of gas.
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:And so why roundabouts are
so effective in saving.
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:Traffic time and uh, and fuel consumption.
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:I don't drive, so I don't.
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:Uh, well, yeah, I, I think,
I think a number of things.
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:I think first of all, um, rather
than being idle in the car, waiting
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:for the light to turn from red to
green, there is really no stopping.
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:And so, um, first of all, there
is a smooth flow of traffic and
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:it just saves time so people can
drive around rather than waiting.
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:In a single spot for, for a long time.
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:And, you know, traffic lights can
build up traffic very, very fast.
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:And that happens in Nigeria.
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:Um, and, and I know that it,
it definitely happens in other
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:parts of the world for sure.
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:You mean traffic jam?
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:Yeah.
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:And so there's, there's traffic jam and.
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:And that's just, that just goes
away with, with roundabouts.
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:And I think the other part is
there's no need for electricity.
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:I mean, there's no red, red
light green lights, so no,
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:there's no need for electricity.
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:And the, the coolest part is we can
have trees inside the roundabouts
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:and we can have really nice.
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:Plants.
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:Oh, can, can you have trees?
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:Because you need to see what's, uh,
do you need to see what's on the other
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:end of the, I mean, on the other, when
as you go around, you don't actually,
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:you don't need to see what's, um,
um, what's on the other direction.
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:Do you?
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:Yeah.
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:Well, maybe for some roundabouts you might
have to, but I doubt if that's, if y.
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:That has to happen in all roundabouts.
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:Cause I mean, I see, I see a lot of
pictures since I started looking up
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:roundabouts and I see some beautiful
trees in some parts of the world,
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:and some even have like, it's almost
like, uh, I wouldn't say forest,
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:but it's, it's like a few is needed
together and just, just being.
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:If, if that word applies.
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:So, so that's great because it,
it makes the traffic smoother.
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:Yeah.
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:So safe time and also driving time.
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:Yeah.
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:Um, does not require
electricity and maintenance.
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:Yeah.
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:I mean, not maintenance
while the, the light bulb.
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:The track lights.
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:Yeah.
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:Uh, And, uh, are they more
effective in terms of accident?
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:I don't know.
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:Uh, I don't know as well.
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:Um, but personally I don't hear of
too many accidents that happen, um,
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:roundabouts, at least not, not around
where, I mean, I see accidents a
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:number of times, but hardly ever.
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:I don't think I've even seen
one happen, um, at a roundabout.
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:I don't know if that might be a factor.
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:Um, I don't know if it's generally safer
or maybe there's no difference yet,
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:but, um, but I don't, I don't think so.
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:Hmm.
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:And so what are the
disadvantages of roundabouts?
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:Because if it's so good, if you
should have them everywhere.
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:Yeah.
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:Um, I'm not sure if there are too
many disadvantages of roundabouts.
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:I think, um, I think it,
it's up space for sure.
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:That's one thing.
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:Cause you know, oh yeah, that's
some land you have to give away
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:to, , um, to build a roundabout.
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:And so traffic lights generally
don't require so much space.
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:Um, they're literally just.
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:Um, but, but roundabouts would
require some space, um, and maybe
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:more maintenance, um, as well.
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:I think the other thing to it is, If, I
mean, most drivers are used to traffic
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:lights, especially if that's a lot
more in the places that they drive.
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:And so getting used to the fact that maybe
there's no traffic light here anymore,
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:there's no roundabout, might take a while.
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:Um, but I don't think that's a
hard thing to adjust to generally.
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:So, yeah, I don't know that many
disadvantages that, that roundabouts
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:have accept the land that they take up.
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:I'm, I'm reading on the Carbon Al.
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:That also drivers are
initially opposed to change.
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:I think this is the one of our
biggest problem, it's not so much
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:about the runabout, but it's change.
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:It's humans.
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:Yeah.
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:Right.
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:Uh, yeah, I, I totally agree.
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:, we're, we're a bit opposed
to change as humans, but if.
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:I mean, if there's a decision to build a
roundabout and the roundabout is there,
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:you, you're gonna have to drive around it.
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:I don't know how supposed to change
you are, but if you wanna get to
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:where you're going, you around it.
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